One Hundredth Story
by Jayne Leigh
Summary: My 100th story on this site. A series of standalone fics written from prompts sent to me.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so this is my 100****th**** fic! Woo! So I've decided to try and do something different. I thought I would do a series of standalone fics and ask any of my readers to send me prompts for each story. Since it was JMS529 birthday this week, I asked her if she could give me the first prompt. If you would like to send me one then please get in touch (DM, review or my twitter link is on my profile). Please let me know what you think! **

**Enjoy! **

_**Prompt: **__**Mark: What do you mean Norah isn't mine? Mary: Marshall, I can explain.**_

**Two Generations**

"It's my place to do this…" Mark argued as he followed Mary from the bar towards the elevators. "It's my right…"

Mary rolled her eyes, hitting the call button before turning to face him. "You're right? Get real, Mark!"

"I'm the father…"

"You're kidding me?" Mary glared at him slightly. "You don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?"

"That Norah isn't yours…" She stated, folding her arms.

Mark frowned in confusion. "What do you mean, Norah isn't mine?"

Mary sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "You weren't around, Mark…She learnt a long time ago that she didn't need you and she moved on…You might have the same eyes and the same blood but she's not yours…Not anymore."

"She's my daughter." He insisted.

"She made her choice." Mary stated. "For once, put her first and do as she wishes."

"Are you sure it's her choice?" He questioned coolly. "Are you sure your husband hasn't been putting ideas in her head?"

"How dare you…"

"Come on, Mary…You know he's always been in between what was rightly mine." Mark claimed. "He stole my family…"

"Let's get one thing straight…I was never yours." Mary cut in, taking a step closer to ignoring the sound of the elevator opening behind her. "And Norah stopping being yours when you ran off to the other side of the country and forgot all about her for 15 years."

"Just what Marshall was waiting for…" He rolled his eyes. "Waiting for me to fail so he could swoop in and play the hero…"

Mary couldn't stop herself from reaching out and slapping him across the face. "You're pathetic, you know that? Marshall was there for, every day you wasn't!"

"Mary…" Mark reached a hand out to her as she walked towards the elevator but she pushed him away.

"She wanted you to be here today…" Mary told him just as the doors were closing. "Be thankful for that."

Once she reached the right floor, Mary walked down the corridor towards their hotel room, taking deep breaths to try and calm herself down.

She swiped her key card and opened the door to see her husband pacing around the lounge of the experience hotel suite they everyone insisted they would need.

"Hey…" Mary closed the door and watched him for a few seconds. "You're going to make yourself dizzy, you know?"

He stopped suddenly and looked her. "What?"

"Would you relax…You're going to give yourself a heart attack."

"I just want everything to go okay." He said. "Is everything ready downstairs?"

"Yep, it's good to go." She nodded, moving over the couch and dropping down.

"Okay, great…" He mumbled to himself as he begun pacing again.

They both looked towards the door when they heard another key card and Brandi stepped in.

"I just saw Mark…He said you hit him."

Marshall spun around to look at his wife.

"Marshall, I can explain." She got to her feet.

"You hit, Mark?" He stared at her. "Mare, come on…You know how important today is…"

"He was being a tool!" She said defensively. "He deserved it!"

"Mary." He sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Forget about it." She told him and then turned to her sister. "Is he still bitching?"

"He's sulking but I think he'll behave now." She laughed lightly and crossed the room, heading for the bedroom.

"Stop looking at me like that." Mary said to Marshall even though she wasn't facing him.

"I just don't want anything to spoil today and Norah wanted Mark here…"

"He was spoiling it with his whining." She insisted as she turned. "He missed out on so much…Birthdays, Christmases, first days at school, her prom, her first boyfriend…Everything that matters….he doesn't get to come here today and start dictating his rights…"

Marshall reached out and put his hands on her shoulders. "You're right, I'm sorry."

"She's not his to give away." She claimed, quietly as he pulled her into his arms. "He's not her Dad."

"Mom?" Norah stepped into the room. "Aunt Brandi said Mark has been causing trouble…"

They turned to look at her but both were stunned silent.

"Mom?" She frowned, looking between the two of them in concern.

Mary shook her head slightly. "Don't worry, everything is sorted…"

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah, Bug…its fine." She said softly. "You look beautiful."

The frowned disappeared and was replaced with a smile before she looked towards Marshall. "Daddy? Do I look okay?"

"You look stunning…" Marshall choked a little as he spoke.

"Oh god, do not start crying." Mary rolled her eyes.

He shot her a look before walking over to Norah and kissed her forehead. "You look like a princess."

"Really?" She beamed at her him as she ran her hands over her elegant, strapless, white dress.

"Of course you do…" Kayleigh, her cousin stated as she exited the bedroom wearing her bridesmaid dress with Brandi behind her. "I spent almost three hours on your hair and makeup."

Marshall thought Norah looked even more beautiful by only having a little makeup and with her pulled up into a simple bun with a few strands loosely framing her face.

"You did a great job, Kay." Marshall told his niece. "And you look beautiful too."

Kayleigh leaned away before he could kiss her cheek. "I love you and all, Uncle Marshall but don't mess up my make up."

Marshall chuckled and held up his hands as he stepped back. "I wouldn't dream of it…"

"So, Norah, are you ready?" Mary asked her.

Norah took a deep breath and nodded. "Where Sienna?"

"She's waiting for you downstairs with Rhys." Mary told her, knowing her youngest daughter was greeting guests with their son.

"Okay, well I guess we should get this show on the road…." Norah looked at Marshall. "You ready, Daddy?"

"No."

"No?" She frowned.

"Marshall…" Mary started warningly.

"Okay, fine…" He sighed. "If we have to…Lets do this."

Mary rolled her eyes. "We'll go down and give you two a moment."

"Don't make her cry." Kayleigh pointed at Marshall as she walked past him.

Marshall waited until the door closed behind them both taking Norah's hand. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Daddy…"

"We could sneak out...Go to the movies or something like we used when you were little." Marshall suggested.

"Daddy, I can't…"

"Why not?"

"Because I'm getting married today." She laughed.

"You really set your heart on doing that?"

"Yeah, Daddy…" She nodded. "I love him."

Marshall sighed in defeat. "Where did my little girl go?"

"I'm 26…. I grew up." She reminded me.

"Too fast." He whispered.

"Come on, Daddy…It's meant to be a happy day." She squeezed his hand.

"I know, I'm sorry." He managed a smile. "I do like Harry… It's just hard letting another man become the most important guy in your life."

"You'll always be my Daddy, though…" She assured him. "Always be my superhero…Nothing is ever going to change that."

He leaned forward to kiss the top of her head and hugged her gently, being careful not to wrinkle her dress or messed up her hair.

"I love you, Daddy…" She whispered, wrapping her arms around him and laying her head on his chest. "Thank you for everything you have done for me."

Marshall pulled back a little to look down her. "You don't need to thank me…Believe me, I have loved every minute of it."

Norah took a shaky breath, trying to get her emotions under control. "We better get down there before Mom comes and drags us out…"

"Just one more minute…" Marshall said, reaching into his pocket and pulled out a rectangle jewelry box. "I want you to have this…"

Norah gasped when he opened it and she saw a beautiful gold bracelet.

"It was my grandmothers…" He started to tell her as he took it out and unclasped it.

"It's too much…" Norah claimed. "You should give it to Mom or Sienna…"

"Oh, like your mother would wear this…It's too girl." He rolled his eyes and took her arm gently. "And I want to give it to my eldest daughter…"

"I love it." She whispered, fingering it gently once he had secured around her wrist.

"It looks perfect." He told her, squeezing her hand again. "Now, are you ready?"

She nodded, not trusting her voice to speak. He smiled and offered her arm to her.

The closer they got to the hotel garden where the ceremony was being held, the tighter Norah's grip got on Marshall's arm but as soon as they started down the aisle and Harry turned to face them, Marshall realized her hold loosen and a big smile appeared on her face.

When they got to end, Harry stepped closer to them and held a hand out to Marshall. Marshall gripped it tighter then he needed to but was impressed when Harry didn't react.

"I promise to take care of her." He assured him.

"You better…" Marshall glanced at Norah once more before back to him. "I still have my gun…"

"Daddy!" Norah hit his arm but was laughing.

Harry swallowed nervously. "I give you my word, sir."

Marshall gave a single nodded before putting Norah's hand into Harry then stepped back to join Mary in the front row.

"It's not too late, you know…" Mary whispered. "You grab her and I'll make a distraction while you run."

Marshall smiled and picked up her hand, kissing it softly. "No, looking at her…look at how happy she is."

Mary sighed. "I guess, you're right."

Marshall's eyes moved from Norah and Harry to Rhys, who was stood with Harry's groomsmen then to the bridesmaids, his daughter, niece and Rhys' wife, Katie. It suddenly hit him how grown up his children were.

Norah had gone to New Mexico State University and had trained to become a teacher. She was now teaching kindergarten at the same school she and her siblings had gone to. Harry was also a teacher there and they seemed perfect for each other.

Rhys was two years younger than Norah and had met Katie at college. They got married right after they graduated and he had followed his parents' footsteps and joined the Marshal Service; although Marshall wished his son would have found a safer career, he couldn't help but feel incredibly proud of him.

Sienna was the only one of them to leave New Mexico to go away for college. She had just turned 19 and was in her first year at Harvard, unsure exactly what she wanted to do but was considering something in politics. She had always found school easy; getting straight A's without much studying. She was one of the popular girls at school; she seemed to be good at everything she tried and was like by everyone. Marshall knew that it sometimes annoyed Norah that it all came so easy to Sienna, who just took everything in her stride with a shrug but Marshall knew that the older girl was one of the people Sienna admired most…So much that she considered a teaching career just so she could be like her big sister.

He sighed quietly, there was still days when he couldn't quite believe everything had worked out between Mary and him and that they had three beautiful children but he was struggling getting used to the idea that they were all grown up, leading their own lives with their own families.

_**XxXxX**_

Marshall was sat watching the wedding reception in full swing. Norah seemed to be having the time of her life and Harry had barely left her side all night. Mary was stood talking with Brandi and Kayleigh but Marshall knew she was only on the other side of the room to keep an eye on Mark, who had calmed down once he found the bar and a waitress who seemed to be on one long break. Sienna was laughing and joking with a group of people Marshall didn't know but that didn't surprise him, she could make friends with anyone. The only issue he did have was with the '_boy'_ that had his arm around her waist. He had always been protective of his daughters but tried his hardest not to interfere with their relationships and luckily they had made good choice…but he did not approve of Clint, who had made his daughter cry one too many times.

"Hey, Daddy-O…" Rhys greeted as he dropped down next to him. "What ya doing?"

"Wondering if I still have any favor in the Marshal Service to shoot Clint and get away with it." He replied, taking a sip of beer, his eyes still on the couple. "Your mother will kill me if get sent to jail and she has to spend her retirement alone."

"Not at Norah's wedding, Dad…" Rhys rolled his eyes. "But give me a call tomorrow…We'll plot something."

Marshall laughed slightly and turned to look at him. "What are you doing over here anyway? You should be whisking your wife off her feet and dancing with her all night."

"I will do but I just wanted to check on you."

"Check on me?" He frowned a little. "I'm fine…"

"Yeah right." He scoffed. "You got the same look on your face when Sienna moved to Boston."

"Rhys, trust me…I'm okay." Marshall assured him, smiling a little when he saw Norah and Harry were now slow dancing. "I mean, as hard as it is to let you all go, I am so proud of all of you and know you're going to do great things…You just don't need me as much as before…"

"Dad, come on…." He started but stopped when he felt two arms wrapped around his legs.

"Dada, dada…"

"Hey, angel…"

Marshall smiled as he watched his son scoop up his 15 months old granddaughter, Amelia.

As soon as Rhys placed her on his lap, she turned and stretched her arms out towards Marshall.

"Papa…" She fell forwards, knowing she would be caught.

"Wow, where you going?" Marshall pulled her into his arms, laughing when she giggled.

"Papa dan..dan…" She pointed to the dance floor.

"Yeah, Papa…go dance." Rhys told him.

Marshall sent a small grateful smile before standing up, holding Amelia closely to him.

"Dan…Dan…" She grinned at him excitedly as he carried to the dance floor.

"Okay, angel…" Marshall placed her down so she was standing on his feet and held her hands tightly before taking a few steps causing to laugh loudly.

After a few minutes, he felt her hands starting to slip out of his and managed to catch hold of her before she fell. He swung her up into his arms and began swaying to the music again, seeing that Sienna and Clint had now joined in on the dancing.

"Can you make me a promise, Ammy?" Marshall asked her and the little girl nodded because she was always said yes to whatever her Papa asked. "Promise me, you will never grow up and leave me for a guy?"

Amelia just grinned and nodded as if she understood what he had just said. He smiled back and kissed her forehead. "That's my girl…"

Amelia yawned and rubbed her eyes before letting out a little sigh.

"You tired? It has been a pretty long day, huh?" Marshall said softly, running a hand up her back and into her blond curly hair to lay her head on his shoulder. He kept swaying to the music but slower and hummed along.

"Hey, can I join you guys?"

He turned a little and smiled at his wife. "Of course."

Amelia reached an arm out to Mary but didn't lift her head nor took her thumb out of her mouth.

"She'll be asleep in a minute." Mary commented, letting Amelia grab hold of her fingers as Marshall put an arm around her and pulled her close to his side, forcing her to sway with him.

"You're a sleepy girl, aren't you…?" He rested his cheek on the top of his granddaughter's head.

"Papa…."

"Shhh, I'm here."

"You okay?" Mary looked up at him.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

"You gave away your eldest daughter, today…"

"I'm trying to see it more as I let her go to do what makes her happy."

"Oh, that reminds me… I picked up some information about Europe…Now, I'm not agreeing to everything…"

"Europe?" He cut in confused. "Who's going to Europe?"

"I thought you wanted to…" She looked up at him. "You always said that once you retired you wanted to travel…"

"Yeah but that was before."

"Before what?"

"Before this…Them." He nodded towards their three children who were now stood together, laughing. "I don't know, Mare…I always thought I would be bored when I had to give up work but if we went away, we would miss out on so much….Norah will probably be starting her own family soon... There is no doubt that Rhys will be the best marshal the service has ever had….and Sienna, well she'll probably be President one day so we can't miss that."

"You know, when we first met, I was impressed by you five generation of US marshals." Mary started and Marshall looked down at her, a little bemused to why she was telling him this now. "But you know what? I think, our two generations right here, has them beat."

He grinned and pressed a quick kiss on her lips. "I couldn't agree more."

"So, you're not going to drag me around Europe?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I think we can find something to keep us busy here."

Mary put her head down his free shoulder, smiling a little when she saw Amelia was asleep.

"Oh." She lifted her head to look at him again. "Can I shoot, Clint? That could be a hobby, right?"

He shook his in reply and pulled her head back down to his shoulder. "Don't worry, Rhys and I already have that covered."

**The End. **

**Ha, Joan, I bet that was nothing what you had in mind but I hope you liked it.**

Please review and let me know what you think.

**Please get in touch if anyone has any prompts or any questions! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Aw thank you to everyone who has reviewed! I'm glad you liked it. Here is the next one, the prompt was sent to me by Jekkah. Please review and let me know what you think.**

**Prompt: **

_**She couldn't remember being so cold or wet in her life **_

**The Waiting Game**

She didn't care that she was sat on the wet, muddy concrete. She didn't care that she had gone almost 9 hours without eating and even longer without sleep. She didn't care that there was a large crowd of people and news crews stood behind the police barrier, despite it being early hours of the morning and was probably wondering who she was.

She had to stay…She couldn't leave…not yet…not until he was out because she would not give up on him. Not now, not ever. She knew he would be okay because there was no way that he could not be.

Her eyes drifted from the pile of rubble that had once been a building, up towards the sky to see the sun was just starting to rise again but she was thankful that it had stopped raining. Stan had wrapped a blanket around her a few hours ago but that was now mostly wet then dry…She couldn't remember being so cold or wet in her life but it didn't change anything…She wasn't leaving…Not without him.

"Mary…" Stan crouched down beside her, placing a hand softly on her shoulder. "You should go home…"

"No." She said quietly, shaking her head.

"It's been a long night…You must be freezing." He tried to reason. "I'll call you the minute…"

"No, I need to be here…He'll want me here when they get him out."

"Mary…." Stan moved his hand from her shoulder to rub her back softly. "We have to prepare…"

She whipped around to face him quickly. "He's coming out, Stan."

"Mary…"

"He's coming out!" She said more firmly. "I know he will….I would know if he wasn't…I would feel it."

"He's been in there for seven hours." Stan continued even though it broke his heart to suggest the worst case scenario. "The last person to come out alive was almost six hours ago."

"You can go home if you want…" She turned back to face the recovery mission again, drawing her knees up closer to her chest. "I'm not leaving him."

Stan sighed. "I'm not going anywhere…Not until this over."

Mary just nodded but stayed silent. Stan had no idea what to say or do next. He had been on the phone for most of the night and getting updates from the rescue team every 20 minutes. Now things were beginning to slow down but he knew the facts they had so far… 12 people walked out unharmed, 29 people injured, 14 dead and 4 people still missing under the rubble.

He didn't have the heart to tell Mary that the crew was now working on a recovery mission not a rescue…It was hard enough for him to believe…He had no idea how Mary would take the news.

"I spoke with the hospital; Tina and Molly are going to be okay." Stan told her although he wasn't sure she was listening. "Some minor injuries but they should be able to go leave in a few hours…"

Mary continued to watch the workers as slowly pulled brick by brick out of the way. There was a rational part of her mind kept on her sat on the ground, out of the way to allow them to work while another part of her wanted to rush forward and start digging through as quickly as possible.

"I have some inspectors already with them and we'll move them to a motel for the rest of the day…I'm sure they won't want to go far." Stan continued. "I think the immediate danger to them is over…"

Stan eyes landed on the back of the truck; the front end was buried and was the initial cause of the collapse.

Tina Dawson, pervious Tina Tomlinson first entered the witness protection program six months ago after discovering her abusive husband was also dealing drugs. So testified against him and then her and her two kids, Molly, 8 and Henry, 3 moved to Albuquerque. They were Marshall's witnesses and Mary had only met them a handful of times but her partner had told her that Tina was so grateful for the fresh start that she was a model witness and the kids just loved it when he went to visit them.

After finding a job in a local clothing store and when the kids were settled in their new schools, Tina had started volunteering at a local shelter for abused women and children. Marshall, himself had spent some time there helping out but yesterday he received a call from Tina, informing him about some phone calls she had been receiving. She had said there had been no one on the other end of the call but after the third one that evening she grabbed the kids and headed for the shelter. They had found ID on the body of the truck drive which said it was Tina's ex-husband and father of her children, Mick. He somehow must have tracked them down.

Mary had been on her own witness transfer at the time and Stan had arrived at the shelter ten minutes after Marshall to find chaos as people rushed from the building. As he was calling for backup, the truck that had crashed into the front of the building exploded causing a partial collapse. He tried his best to assist the people who had managed to flee while trying to get hold of Marshall but his cell phone just went to voice mail. He had been willing the emergency services to hurry up as he struggled to keep the scene under control and was thankful to a few members of staff who were able to help administer first aid to those who needed it.

"Why did he go back in?" Mary whispered so quietly that he almost missed it.

"Because….because he is Marshall." Stan answered. "He was doing his job."

He had been so relieved when he first saw his inspector exiting the building, helping a limping Tina and holding Molly in his arms. After brief conversation and a struggle to stop Tina going back inside to find Henry, Marshall headed back in himself. Stan had tried to stop him, pointing out the blood running down the side of his face from a head injury but Marshall wouldn't listen. Said he couldn't stand there was watch women and children die when he could help.

All night, Stan tried to work out why he had let his inspector go in alone…Why he was okay being stood on the outside.

The emergency services had arrived just as Marshall disappeared back through the door but as Stan was giving them a run down on what he knew, they heard another loud bang and could do nothing but watch as the rest of the building crumpled to the ground. All the screaming and shouting had stopped for a few seconds as everyone fell silent to stare in horror before all hell broke loose again.

"Hold!"

Suddenly the work stopped and Stan stood to go find out what's happening. Mary knew it was would be because they found something…or someone. She held her breath, waiting to see what would happen next. The workers crowded around one area and within seconds, a medic was called over. Mary watched him crouching down and after a few minutes his shook his head before stepping back. She hugs her knees tighter and rocks gently….It won't be Marshall…It can't be.

When Stan returns to her side, she refuses to look up at him, scared about what he might say.

"They found a body of a boy…"

"Henry?" She questioned, this time glancing up at him.

Stan shook his head. "No, he was too old…They said he was a teenager…"

Mary took a deep shaky breathing then returned to watching as the body was carefully and slowly removed from the rubble.

"So, that is three people still to be found." Mary whispered.

"Yeah…" Stan debated if he should suggest for her to go home again but decided against it. "I spoke to Seth Mann…Him and his wife is flying out as soon as they can…"

"Marshall is going to hate that you worried them…."

"Mary…"

"Don't, Stan…" He cut in.

"Don't what?"

"Don't try and prepare me for the worse…Don't try and convince me to give up on him." She quickly brushed the back of her hand across her face before Stan could see the tear that had escaped her eye. "He would never give up on me…He would never leave…In fact, he would probably be in that building right now with me…"

"He wouldn't want you to suffer." Stan stated. "He wouldn't want you hurting…"

"And that's why I know he's going to be okay….He promised not to quit on me."

Stan stared down at her, unsure how to reply to that when movement over by the barrier caught his attention. He saw Brandi and Peter had arrived and were trying to get past but the police officer wouldn't let them by.

"Your sister is here." Stan told her. "I'm going to go get her…Let her sit with you."

He half expected her to object but she didn't and when he turned to see what she was looking at, he saw the team had moved to a different section of the site. He wondered whether there was a reason for that and if this nightmare would finally be over soon.

After a quiet word with one of the cops, Stan led both Brandi and Peter over to Mary.

"I'm just going to make a couple of calls…" He said softly. "I'll be right back."

"Mare…" Brandi sat down beside her. "We heard Marshall's name on the news…I thought…I thought you would be with him."

Mary screwed her eyes shut tightly; she would give anything in the world to be with him now.

"I was working on something else." She whispered.

Brandi glanced up at Peter for reassurance, who nodded for her to continue.

"Can we get you anything?" She asked. "You must be freezing…"

"It's been raining."

"There's a coffee shop right down the street…We could go grab a cup and still be close by in case anything happens." Peter suggested.

"I'm not leaving…Not without him." Mary insisted.

Brandi bit her lip, wanting to say that it will be okay but she just didn't believe it.

"He kissed me…" Mary mumbled.

"Who did?"

"Marshall…He kissed me the other night…I had been avoiding him all day yesterday….If I had known this would happen…."

"Mary, you had no way of knowing." Brandi moved closer to her and put an arm around her. "You did nothing wrong…"

"He told me how he feels about me…Called me out on my feelings for him…" Despite her attempts to stop them, tears flooded her eyes. "And I ran...I ran from him."

"I bet Marshall understood," Brandi claimed. "He understood everything."

Mary nodded a little, wiping a hand across her eyes. "That's why I need to be here…I need to tell him I'm sorry I ran…That I feel the same way."

"Can we wait with you?" Brandi asked, not wanting to leave her sister alone. Not now that she had finally admitted her feelings for Marshall and there was very little chance of him coming out of this alive.

"If you want…"

Brandi sat on the ground beside her, one arm around her back and she rested her head on her shoulder, while Mary just continued to stare ahead. Peter reached down and removed the wet blanket before pulling his own jacket off to drape over the older Shannon woman.

Stan returned but didn't have anything new to tell them, so instead they were all just silent, listening to the chatter around them. It was mostly from the news crews who had set up camp by the police barrier, reporting the event to people around the country. There was more people turning up as well, probably because the night had become day and people wanted to have a look now the sun was up.

"Chief McQueen?" The head of the rescue team, Steve Cooper waved him over.

Stan and Mary shared a look, both of them wondering whether this was it. Was it finally over? He reached down and squeezed Mary's shoulder before heading over.

"What's going on?" Stan asked. "Have you found him?"

"No, sir…" He shook his head. "I wanted to let you know, we're letting Team A go."

"What does that mean?"

"We're sending just over half of the crew home." He explained.

"Why would do that?" Stan stared at him. "There are still people missing…"

"Sir, I understand you must be upset but they've been working all night." He said softly. "The building is secure and all the fire have been put out…There will be people still working on the site but at this point we don't believe there are any survivors."

Stan ran a hand over his head. "No, you can't do this…"

"Sir…"

"My Inspector is in there somewhere." Stan snapped, jabbing a finger towards the wreckage. "I got his parents flying in… His partner has been sat over there all night…"

"Stan?" Mary appeared behind him; having seen her boss getting worked up, she couldn't face just sitting and waiting for her whole world to fall apart.

"Mary, just give us a minute…" Stan tried to turn her away.

"No, tell me what's going on." She demanded, looking past Stan to Steve. "Have you found my partner yet?"

"Ma'am, I was just tell Chief McQueen that we're going to be sending some of the team home."

"What about Marshall?" She asked.

"I'm so sorry…."

"Look, he ran back into that building while everyone was running out!" Stan exclaimed. "You cannot just leave him trapped…"

"I promise you, we will find him but right it's important my men get some rest…"

"Sir?" They all turned to face a guy who was in contact with the team. "They got something…"

"Got what?" Mary stepped closer to him.

"Wait, I can't quite hear…" He turned a few dials on the radio.

"What team is it?" Steve asked him.

"The team that was able to get into the basement area…" The younger man explained then grinned widely. "There's a child crying…He's alive! That little kid managed to survive!"

"Oh my god." Mary reached out and gripped onto Stan's arm tightly.

"Wait, there's more…They found someone else."

"Marshall?" Mary asked. "Is he alive? Is he okay?"

"I can't hear…Shh…" He told them, adjusting the radio again and then frowned a little.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Stan questioned.

"I'm not sure if I heard the message right."

"What was it?"

"Something about starting to think he had been sold out for a Twinkie."

Thank god for Brandi and Stan because Mary felt her legs threaten to give out and she had to grab hold on to them to stop her from falling to the floor.

"It's him, Stan…I knew it…I told you…" She rambled a little.

"That's your guy?" Steve looked to Stan.

"Yeah, that's him…" Stan couldn't help but laugh then turned back to Mary. "And he's making jokes…that's good a sign…"

"How long till you get him out?"

"They're still working on getting the boy out…He's scared and doesn't want to leave without your guy."

"But they're both going to be okay, right?"

"I don't have a lot of information, right now." He answered. "I think, the boy is mainly okay, mostly scared."

"And Marshall?"

"He has some debris on him…they're working on removing it now."

"So, he's trapped?"

"He's alive and he's talking." Stan reminded her. "Just give them time; they know what they're doing."

"Yeah, yeah…" She began to pace a little. "I should do something…I need to do something."

"Mary." Brandi reached and placed her hands on her shoulders, stopping her. "You didn't give up on him and you'll be here when they get him out…"

"They're bringing the boy out now…"

Mary looked over to Stan, wondering what would happen to Henry. He was still a witness and would need protection.

"You stay here…" Stan told her. "I'll check on him and then arrange for someone to run him over to the hospital."

"Thanks, Stan…"

Mary continued to pace, only pausing to ask if there was any more information every now and then.

"Mary." Stan returned after 20 minutes. "Henry is fine…On his way to the hospital; they think he has a broken arm and perhaps a slight concussion."

"Wow, he got pretty lucky…" Brandi commented, glancing at the wreckage of the building in amazement.

"I don't think it was so much luck as it was he was with the right person." Stan smiled a little. "The kid spent 15 minutes telling me how Marshall saved him…How he is a real life superhero."

Mary couldn't help a little. "Please, don't tell him that…We'll never hear the end of it."

"I don't know, I think he might deserve to do a little bit of bragging," Stan replied. "I also talk to the medic who's down there with him."

"You have? Well, what did he say?"

"His right leg and arm are buried under of debris, they can't determine how bad it is until they get an x-ray but he's pretty certain he's going to need surgery." Stan told her. "He also took a nasty bang to the head as well as some burns, which he probably got from when the car first exploded."

"Oh god…"

"They're going to sedate him before bringing him out…"

"What? They can't!"

"Mary, he's already in so much pain and moving him will only make it worse." Stan claimed. "It's the best thing for him."

"What if he doesn't wake up?" She whispered.

"Hey, he's come this far." Stan placed a hand on her shoulder.

Mary sighed and nodded a little. "I want to ride with him to the hospital."

"I'll make sure they know that." Stan agreed easily, already knowing she would want that.

"And I'm staying with him for the rest of the day so won't be working today…" She continued. "And probably not tomorrow either."

"Let's just see what the doctors say and we'll go from there." Stan suggested.

"Things are going to change, Stan." She warned him.

"What things?" He frowned and when Mary just continued to look at him, it dawned on him. "Oh…"

"I'm done running."

"We'll talk after all this is over." He told her but then patted her arm gently, reassuring her that he would be on their side.

"They're getting ready to move him now…" Steve walked over to them.

Mary turned back to Brandi and Peter. "You guys should take off…"

"We can stay." Brandi claimed.

She shook her head. "I'll be heading for the hospital and there is nothing you can do there."

Brandi sighed. "If you're sure."

"Yeah, but thanks for coming down." She hesitated before hugging her sister. "I really appreciate it."

"We'll stop by the hospital in a few hours…Bring you some clean clothes and food." Peter offered.

"Thanks…." She started to stay but movement from behind them caught her attention.

She pushed passed them and ran towards the four men that were carrying a stretcher.

"Marshall?" She called as she reached his side. "Marshall?"

"Ma'am, we've given him something to put him under…" A medic started to explain. "And we need to get him to the hospital right away…"

"I'm staying with him." She claimed.

"Are you family?"

"I'm his fiancée." She told him without hesitating, knowing she would be allowed nowhere near him otherwise.

"Okay, you can ride with us in the ambulance but you cannot get in our way." He stated.

"No problem…" She promised as she climbed into the ambulance behind them, waiting until the medics had finished whatever it was they needed to before reaching out and taking Marshall's uninjured hand, squeezing it gently. "I'm here, Marshall…I'm so sorry I ran."

_**XxXxX**_

It had been two days since the accident and Marshall still hadn't woken up fully. When he did, it was only for a few minutes at a time and he hadn't been very alert. Mary had been concerned but the doctors kept telling her it was understandable considering what he had gone through and the medication he was on.

His injuries consisted of, a dislocated shoulder and a brake in his forearm as well as a three broken fingers. He had a mild concussion and several lacerations on his face. Four broken ribs and two cracked along with a lot of bruising but the worse of all was his right leg. He had already had an operation on it and the doctor told her that there would be least another two, maybe more. His knee down to his toes was pretty much crushed and had to be pinned back together. He also had some burns on his back that needed to be cleaned and redressed twice a day; the nurses had assured her that they looked worse than they were and even said there wouldn't be much scarring.

When Mary walked into his hospital room after giving Stan an update, she was surprised to see him awake and sat up, although she could tell he was fighting to keep his eyes open.

"Hey, you're awake…" She took a few steps closer to the bed.

"Barely…" He replied.

"You should get some rest…"

"That's all I've done."

"I know but you need it."

"What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

"I remember going to shelter and seeing the car crash into the house…I remember going back in to look for Henry." He said, frowned a little as he tried to think back. "I remember being trapped and not being able to move."

Mary took hold of his good hand. "The floor collapsed after the car exploded and you fell down to the basement…According to Henry, you pushed him out of the way when the rest of the house came down."

"How am I not dead?" He asked quietly.

"Just lucky, I guess." She shrugged. "The rescue team said that although some of debris crushed you, a couple of beams fell right above you and was kind of like a shelter, stopping anything else falling on you guys…"

"Henry is okay?"

"Yep, barely had a stretch on him."

Marshall sighed in relief. "Good."

"Now go back to sleep." She ran a hand through his hair carefully.

"Okay…" His eyes started to drift shut. "Hey, Mare?"

"What?"

"A nurse was in here before you came back…" He told her.

"So?"

"So, why does she think you're my wife?

She stared at him before a few seconds before shrugging. "Well, I figured I would be at some point down the line and decided I might start getting used to it now."

Marshall blinking a few times at her in disbelief. "What drugs did they give me?"

She smirked. "Go to sleep, we'll talk about it later…"

"Okay…"

"Oh and Marshall…Don't you ever do anything like this to me again."

"I'll try my best." He mumbled sleepily.

She waited until she was sure he was asleep before leaning forwards and pressing her lips to his forehead. "I love you, Doofus."

"Love you too…" He muttered back, startling her a little.

She let out a small laugh and shook her head before taking a seat; right quite ready to leave his side yet.

**The End**

**Hope you liked it…See, this is how my mind works…I read that prompt and my brain came up with this…A little scary, I think! Lol! **

**Anyway, please review and keep sending me your prompts. **


	3. Chapter 3

**So, this one did not turn out the way I first planned. Its set about four years after the final. I hope you like it, let me know what you think. The prompt is from Merciki. **

**Prompt: Mary/Marshall: "you don't want to go there" - "French longest word is "anticonstitutionnellement****"**

**Getting Back To Normal**

The door slamming against the wall caused everyone in the conference room to jump and turn around. Marshall stared at Mary, who was glaring at him from the open door.

"The French longest word is anticonstitutionnellement?!"

"Inspector Shannon, can you wait outside for a moment…" Marshall recovered from the surprise entrance.

"I know it was you!" She pointed at him.

"Mary, wait in my office." He stood up from the head of the table.

"Chief, is everything okay?" An inspector from Austin questioned.

Marshall had been in the middle of a meeting with representatives from Wit-Sec offices all over the country. They were meant to discussing tactics to keeping witness safe while sticking the rules and stay under budget. The Albuquerque office was still one of the best which was why he was chosen to head the meeting but there were also some members from head office who he had convince to increase the budget to be able hit all three targets.

"It's fine." Marshall sent him a smile as he grabbed his suit jacket from the back of the chair. "I'll be right back."

When he crossed the office, he saw Delia hiding behind a file while the rest of his staff was acting like they were busy. He entered his own office, closing the door firmly and pulling down the blinds before turning Mary who still glaring at him.

"How dare you interrupt my meeting and talk to me like that?" He held up a hand to stop her. "You know, I let you get away with a lot of things and never pull rank…All I ask for in return is that you show me some respect, especially in front of other people!"

Mary folded her arms and leaned back against his desk, her eyes narrowing at him. "French longest word is anticonstitutionnellement?"

He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "This is about Norah?"

"How would my four year old daughter know that?" She asked.

"Maybe she's been studying…"

She stepped forward and jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "You're the only idiot I know who would even know that!"

"Yes, I was the one who told her." He pushed her hand off of him, refusing to wince in pain. "You caught me…You're not the only person I spout random trivia to, as you call it."

"I don't give a damn what you told her." She replied. "What I want to know is what it is you're doing talking to her."

He frowned a little. "What?"

"I know you haven't been visiting when I've been at home." She stated. "When the hell have you been around her? Have you been going behind my back?!"

"I'm guessing Brandi hasn't told you…"

"Told me what?"

"She took an extra shift at work but it means her working Friday afternoons." Marshall sighed. "I've been watching Norah and Lexi."

Her mouth dropped opened. "How long has this been going on?"

"Just the last two weeks… I thought you knew."

"No, my sister has been keeping that bit of information from me." She claimed. "And why didn't you tell me yourself?"

"She called me after she couldn't get hold of you because you and Delia were transferring the Thomas family and I offered to watch for the afternoon…You took the weekend off and last week, I didn't see much of you." He answered. "I thought I was doing you favor…I wanted to help you out, I'm sorry if I crossed a line."

"Yeah, well I wasn't the one who put the lines in our friendship." She muttered.

"That's not fair." He shot back, hurt flashing across his face.

"Look, forget about it…" She pushed herself away from the desk. "I arrange something for the girls…"

"You don't need to." He told her. "I don't mind."

"You have to work…"

"I can work from home and there is never much left to do by Friday night…"

"It's not about that."

"Am I really that bad?" He asked. "I know you have abandonment issues but do you really blame me for falling in love? You told me you understood what I was saying about mine and Abigail's relationship…You told me you wanted me to be happy…"

"I told you I would release you to be happy." She shot back. "And apparently, your happiness depends on me not being around."

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, if you thought that was what I meant."

"Why are we even talking about this…It was four years ago." She sighed. "We've both moved on…."

"Yeah, I guess we have." He ran a hand through his hair. "I guess I didn't realize it would be like this…"

"Like what?"

"That you could only be my friend if my life revolved around you…"

"Marshall, you don't want to go there." She said warningly. "It was you who wanted to be free."

"I just meant I wanted your approval." He raised his voice. "But all you saw it as was me abandoning you… That I was choosing Abigail over you."

"Didn't you?"

"You made it perfectly clear in the past that you did not belong to anyone and that we were partner and friends, nothing more." He pointed out. "What I wanted with Abigail wasn't a replacement for what I had with you but it did mean there was someone else in my life and you couldn't handle that…"

"I wasn't the one who changed." She claimed. "You got engaged and become Chief."

"What did you want me to do, Mare?" He asked. "Stay stuck spinning on my wheels because you don't like change?"

"Hey, I've handle a lot of change…Don't try and blame all this on me." She shot back. "You and Abigail broke up almost two years ago and you sulked about it for over a year… You were the one that pushed me away and stopped spending time with your Goddaughter...Why was that? Was it because your so called perfect relationship still had problems even though I stopped calling and asking for help? Did she finally manage to get inside your head and blame your train wreck of an engagement on me?"

"You have no idea why my relationship broke down and the only reason for that is because you never asked." Marshall said quietly. "Maybe you were right, we shouldn't talk about this…Our friendship is obviously not as good as it used to be…or what we thought it used be…Maybe it's time we both accepted that and move on."

Mary's eyes widened a little at his words and could only watch as he opened the door and left the office. It was true, their relationship wasn't the same and she knew a lot of that was down to his engagement and her uncertainty where she fitted into his life. When Abigail had left Albuquerque, Mary had expected their friendship to go back to how it was before but it never. It had pissed her off that Marshall never talked to her about the break up and maybe she should have gone to him about it but she thought she was getting her friend back only discover he had been replaced by a more serious, workaholic, who avoided pretty much all social aspects of her life.

When she finally stepped back into the main office, she saw he had returned to the conference room and could feel everyone watching her.

"Mary, are you okay?" Delia questioned.

"I'm fine." She claimed, grabbing her bag and jacket. "I'm done for the day…"

"But what about…." Delia started but stopped when she saw the doors close behind Mary.

_**XxXxX**_

"What's the big deal?" Brandi rolled her eyes. "I need the extra money and Marshall is great with the kids."

"You can't just hand over my daughter to someone without telling me!" Mary told her.

"It wasn't someone…It was Marshall…."

"Brandi…"

"I know you guys aren't as close as you used to be…"

"You know what, just forget it."

"You need to sort it out, Mare." Brandi told her. "You obviously care about him and miss him…"

"I said forget it."

"Just think about what you're throwing away if you don't fight for it." Brandi added. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Fine…" Mary muttered and dropped down on the couch.

"Mom?"

"Hey, bug…"

"Are you mad at Aunt Brandi?"

Mary sighed. "No, not really…"

"Is it because you don't like Marshall anymore?"

"I still like Marshall."

"Then how come you don't want him looking after Lexi and me on Fridays?"

"It's complicated, Bug… It's not he's job to take care of you and he has to work…"

"But I like hanging out with him…"Norah whined slightly. "He's really smart and funny…"

"I know he is…" Mary couldn't help but smile a little; Brandi was right, she did miss him.

"Can't you just tell each other sorry?" She asked. "Like you make Lexi and me do when we have fights?"

"It's a little different than that, Bug."

"Why?"

"It just is." Mary brushed her hair behind her ears.

"Well, it shouldn't be." Norah sighed and turned to go back into her room.

_**XxXxX**_

Mary had waited until Norah was asleep that night before calling Jinx and asking her to come over while she went out. Her first stop was the Sunshine building and when she saw the lights on, she assumed that Marshall would be there. She knew he put in a lot of hours late at night to keep up with his paperwork since unlike Stan, when he had the Chief's job; Marshall still took care of most of his witnesses.

However when she stepped off the elevator, she was surprise to see Delia.

"You're here late…" Mary commented.

"I told the chief I would do some reports for him." Delia answered. "I'm just about done."

"You're doing his work for him now?"

"I found him asleep at his desk this morning, so I figured he deserve an early night." Delia shrugged. "I had to practically push him out the door though."

"Oh, I bet he loved that…"

"I've gotten pretty good at it now so it didn't take long…"

"Wait, how often do you have to do this?" Mary frowned.

"It's not been so much lately but after Abigail left it was most nights."

"How come I never knew this?"

"You didn't?" Delia questioned. "You didn't notice?"

"You don't think I would have done something if I did notice?!" She snapped.

"I just thought you were busy with Norah."

"Was he really that bad?"

"The break up was hard on him, knocked him off his feet for a while." Delia claimed.

Marshall's words from earlier flashed through her mind and she felt a knot in her stomach forming from guilt. "Why did they?"

"Who? What?"

"Marshall and Abigail…Why did they break up?" She asked and the other woman just stared at her. "Delia?"

"I don't understand…" She shook her head a little.

"I'm not asking you for the answer to world peace!" Mary threw her hands up in frustration. "It's a simple question."

"If you don't know, maybe you should talk to Marshall…"

"If I could talk to Marshall, I would already know."

"Mary, I don't want to get in the middle of whatever it is that has happened between you guys…"

"Look, all I keep hearing from people is that Marshall and I should talk and fix our issues but I cannot fix it if I don't know what it is." Mary claimed. "I know things were weird after he got the promotion and was planning the wedding but he changed after they broke up…"

Delia sighed. "Remember a few weeks before when Marshall ended up in hospital?"

"Of course." Mary nodded.

A little over two years ago, Marshall had been visiting a witness at the restaurant she worked in when a guy walked in with gun and tried to rob the place. The owner had argued with him and Marshall had stepped in to wrestle the gun out of the guy's hand. Unfortunately, after losing the gun, the robber grabbed a steak knife from a nearby table and plunged it into his side before escaping.

Luckily, the blade had missed all organs but Marshall had lost a lot of blood and after getting an infection, he ended up in a pretty bad way for a few days. Those days when he was unconscious, Mary had felt like an outsider. Abigail was a permanent presence by his side and while the younger woman had never made her unwelcome, she just didn't know where she fitted. If the doctors had an update or wanted information, they would speak with Abigail. She was the one who call his family and their friends, giving them the latest news. Even when Mary had offered to go pack a bag for Marshall, Abigail had already had it covered. She had decided then that there was no place for her in Marshall's life like she had been in the past, so she took a further step back then had when he first got engaged.

She had only spoken to him once during his six weeks sick leave and that's only because he called the office to let them know he was spending his last two weeks off in Texas. When he did return, he returned alone and with the news the wedding was cancelled.

"Did you know…?" Delia started but stopped unsure about if she should be telling her this.

"Did I know what?"

She sighed. "Did you know Abigail was pregnant?"

"What?!"

"Yeah, about six weeks along at the time of the stabbing…they hadn't told anyone because of the 12 weeks rule."

"She had a baby?" Mary's eyes widened.

"No." Delia shook her head. "She miscarried a few weeks later…The doctors said there had been nothing they could have done to stop it but I guess the stress of Marshall getting hurt didn't help matter."

"He never told me…" Mary whispered.

"Well, he doesn't actually talk about it…Stan told me because I called him about my concerns when I discovered Marshall sleeping in his office." Delia explained.

"But I don't understand…Why would they break up? She didn't blame him, did she?"

"I think he blamed himself more." Delia stated. "I don't know really know a lot of the details but they went to Texas to try and work through everything…I guess, they just couldn't."

"I should have known…" Mary groaned. "I should have asked."

"Look, I said I didn't want to get involved in what happened between the two of you but if you want my advice then go find him." Delia told her. "He was offered a job today from the big shot in the designer suit that came down from head office…if you don't give him a reason to stay then he won't."

"Give him a reason?" Mary repeated. "What can I offer him?"

"A friend…that's all he wants." Delia stated. "You don't think he hasn't been offered transfers out of here? His mother has tried to get him to move closer to them and went as far as using Seth Mann's friends to get him a job….Stan even suggested a transfer to help him move on from what happened with Abigail."

"Why is he still here then?"

"I don't know but what I do know is that the days he took care of your little girl and niece, I haven't seen him happier." She said softly. "He had a rough couple of years and it took a long time but he dug his way out of the hole he found himself in…Maybe it is time that he moved on but at least let him know you still care about him before he goes."

Mary thought about everything she had just been told and couldn't believe how big of a gap Marshall and she had let come between them.

"He went home?" She asked Delia.

"About an hour…" The other woman nodded.

"Thanks." Mary said before turning and heading back to the door.

_**XxXxX**_

Mary pulled open in front of Marshall's house and just sat staring at it. After the break up, he and Abigail sold their house and Marshall had moved back to his old place, since the couple he had been renting it out to, had decided to buy their own place.

His car was the in driveway and there were some lights still on so at least she knew he was at home but know she was here, she had no idea what she was meant to say to him. She thought back to their argument earlier, when she had accused him of sulking over his break up….She now knew why he had looked like she had slapped around the face…He hadn't been sulking…he had been grieving. Grieving for the child he had so desperately wanted for so long.

Sighing, she forced herself out of the car and up the path. Regardless, what their friendship had become, she still considered him her best friend…Her partner and he needed her to step up for once.

She knocked but got no answer; she did consider just leaving and talking to him in the morning but she knew she wouldn't be able to get any sleep tonight now she knew what she knew.

She glanced down, seeing a plant pot; she moved it with her foot before bending down and lifting a tile. She smirked when she saw the spare key. She knew he left there because his brother had a habit of dropping by if they were on the road with work and was in the area.

The second she opened the door, she saw Oscar running towards her. She froze for a moment, forgetting that Marshall had the dog. She closed the door and turned to face him, expecting him to jump at her, wanting attention like he normally did but instead he stood in front her, growling.

"It's me, you dumb dog." She rolled her eyes.

His ears lifted at the sound of her voice and he didn't stop her from moving forward but he kept close to her as she made her way down the hall. She first looked into the living room to find it empty before moving onto the kitchen. There were some dirty plates in the sink, ready to be washed and she knew Marshall would never go to bed without cleaning his kitchen first. She was about to call out to find out where he was, when she noticed the back door open.

She stepped out and Oscar collided with the backs of her legs when she stopped. Marshall was led on the grass, one hand behind his head, the other clutching a tumbler of scotch; the rest of the bottle led beside him.

Oscar gave two barks, startling his master out of his deep thoughts and he sat up enough to look over towards.

"Mary?"

"I did knock." She told him. "You need to find a better hiding place for your spare key…"

He sat up fully as she stepped off the patio. "Sorry, I didn't hear you."

"Its okay, Oscar was there to greet me." She commented as she lowered herself down next to him. "What happened to him, anyway? When did he stop being so friendly? Not a criticism, by the way."

Marshall glanced at her before reaching out to pet Oscar who came to lie on the other side of him. "He's still friendly but only with people he knows."

Mary was about to argue that he knew her but then remember why she was there.

"Did you need something?" He asked. "Is something wrong?"

Mary sighed. "Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Ask what I need." She answered. "I was a bitch to you earlier and anyone else would be throwing me out of their house, right now."

"Honestly, Mare I haven't got the energy." He told her. "So, if you came to finish off the argument then can we just leave it and say you won?"

"I haven't come to argue, Marshall." She led her hand on top of his. "I spoke to Delia."

"You did? Should I be worried about what?"

"Why didn't you tell me about the baby?"

Marshall's mouth opened and then closed in surprise. He glanced down and picked at the grass for a few minutes. "Delia told you about that?"

"Yeah, she thought I knew to begin with and then I made her tell me the rest." She explained. "Marshall, I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "It was almost two years ago…"

"Yeah and we're meant to be best friends and it took me this long to find out."

"Are we still best friends?" He asked.

"I don't know…" She let out a long breath. "But I know I still care about you… That even if we're never as close as we were before, I still want to be your friend…I'll always want to be your friend."

"It wasn't because I didn't want you to know…I didn't talk to anyone about it." He told her. "I pushed everyone and dived straight into work…I wanted to forget about it."

"I understand that…" she nodded. "The problem is, when I lost my way and tried to run away from my troubles after all that stuff with Spanky, every time I turned around, you were there…ready and waiting for when I needed you."

"Mare…"

"I should have known something to wrong…I should have been there for you, even if all I knew was you and Abby had broken up." She continued. "I was a crappy friend because I thought you didn't want me your life anymore."

"That was never true."

"You were right earlier when you said I thought you chose Abigail over me…I was jealous." She admitted. "I couldn't have a relationship with anyone without them being second best to you…then Abigail came along and you managed to do what I couldn't."

"Mary, if I knew you felt like this…If I had known I hurt you…"

"You would have done what? Break it off?" She asked. "Come on, Marshall…You loved her and despite what I was feeling, I knew you were happy…I didn't want to wrack that."

"But you were still angry with me?"

She shrugged and smirked. "I'm complicated, what can I say?"

Marshall smiled a little. "I am sorry you got hurt."

"What's done is done…I know you never intended to hurt me and it was most likely my own fault for not being honest with you." She replied. "But I hope we can move on from that now."

"I'd like that." He gave her a small smile. "I've missed having a friend."

"Me too." She squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry about the baby…"

She saw him tense and he returned his gaze to the sky. "It strange to think that if things would have been different, she would be about a year and half now…"

"She?" Mary frowned.

"I uh…I don't know why, I just always thought she was would be a girl." He swallowed nervously and his eyes flicked towards her, waiting for her to mock him.

"I bet you would have spoilt her rotten." She knew what he was expecting her reaction to be but she wanted to prove that she could be there for him. "She would have been lucky to have a dad like you."

"Yeah, well…I guess, things happen for a reason."

"Yeah…" She agreed quietly. "What happened with Abigail? The last I saw, she was playing the doting wife-to-be, fussing over you and making sure all those nurses knew you were taken."

Marshall took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he thought about his ex. "I threw our relationship away…"

"Yeah right." She looked at him in disbelief.

"I couldn't get over the guilt….I thought it was my fault because I got hurt and worried her." He explained. "I couldn't live with it and I shut her out…"

"But she must have understood what you were going through."

"She was the one that lost that child, Mare and she was devastated but after a while, she was able to move on…wanted to focus on our future…Said that once we were married, we could try again but I couldn't." He shook his head. "I told her, I didn't want children…that I couldn't live everyday knowing I could get killed on the job and leave them fatherless."

She looked at him surprise. "You didn't mean that."

"I did…I still do, I guess."

"So, that was a deal breaker?" She asked.

"No, not at first but when we got to Texas and I saw how great she was with her niece and nephews…I just couldn't deny her that…I had to let her go."

"Marshall…"

"It was probably for the best…I like said, everything happens for a reason."

"Look, maybe you should talk to someone…I mean, a professional…"

"Stan got Shelly to set me up with someone when I returned to work…It was for the stabbing incident but we talked about Abigail and the baby." He assured her. "I don't see him anymore but I can call him any time I feel like I need to."

"Oh…Good then I guess."

"And I am sorry about the whole thing with Norah and Lexi…I really did think Brandi would tell you."

"No, I'm sorry…I should have appreciated the help." She told him. "But are you sure you're okay with them?"

"You mean you're okay with me having them?"

"Well, you are Norah's Godfather…"

"I've not done a very good job of that lately."

"We've both lost our way a little over the last few years but there is still time to get back on track…If you want to…"

"I do…I want to make it up to her…and to you."

"Good, then you can start by coming over for dinner tomorrow." She told him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Norah is actually why I came here tonight." She said. "She basically told me to suck it up and say sorry."

Marshall raised an eyebrow. "She got you to say sorry? Wow."

"Shut up!" She hit his arm and began to get to her feet. "I should get back home…It's getting late."

He nodded and stood up to. "Okay, well I'll see you tomorrow at work, then."

"You will…." She started towards the door but then turned back. "Speaking of work…Delia said something about a job offer…?"

He held up a hand to stop her. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Okay….Good." She carried on to the door.

He followed her through the house to the front the door and leaned against the frame as she stepped out onto the porch. "Thanks for coming over…I appreciated it."

"Any time, partner…" She paused to think about her next words, wanting to get them right. "Don't give up your dream of children…If I can do it, then you sure as hell can."

She kissed his cheek and left him there to stare after her in surprise as she climbed into her car. He watched her pull out of the drive and disappeared out of sight before going back into the house. Oscar was sat in the hallway, waiting for him.

"What do you think, boy?" He scratched his fingers over the dog's head lightly. "Maybe things are starting to finally get back to normal…"

**The End**

**So, yep…This one took on a life of its own. It was actually going to be a comedy one when I first started but it got pretty serious pretty quickly. **

**Please review and let me know what you think…. And please send in some prompts. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Aw! Thank you so much for your reviews! Please keep them coming…also prompts; I'm running out! This prompted was sent in by Megan (BravoExpressions). Thank you! Hope you enjoy it!**

**Enjoy!**

_**Prompt: M&M get lost in the woods during a snowstorm searching for a witness. Marshall falls through a frozen pond.**_

**Something Beginning with W**

"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with W."

Marshall shot his partner a sideways glance but knew better then to reply. She wasn't in a playful mood and he knew whatever his answer was, would be wrong and he would end up on the receiving end of a rant.

"I bet you're thinking white, aren't you?" She continued regardless of his silence. "Of course you are, since we're surrounded by white…"

"Mare…" He let out a long sigh.

"I mean, we're walking in a goddamn blizzard through 20 foot of snow…"

"It's no more than four inches." Marshall corrected with an eye roll.

"All because some dumbass couldn't say no to even more dumbass of a witness…." She exclaimed her voice getting louder with each word. "Don't you have anything to say?!"

He sighed again and stopped walking when he realized she was no longer beside him. He turned and saw she was stood with her arms folded, most likely to keep warm more than anything else.

"What do you want me to say? I agree that this isn't the most ideal situation and I'm just as annoyed as you but stood in the snow complaining about it is not going to help." He told her and when he took a deep breath, he felt his lungs sting from the cold air, noticing the temperature had dropped lower since they first set out. He glanced at his watch and saw they had been walking for almost an hour. "We could head back…I mean, this kid is four years old…Do you think he would have walked this far?"

"No but then I didn't think he's parents would be so stupid to let him wonder off on his own in the first place." Mary replied.

Marshall pulled his out his cell phone. "I got no service…Have you?"

Mary mumbled something and took her own phone out her pocket. "Nothing."

"Well, let's head back anyway…They probably have the kid already and are waiting for us."

"And if he's not there?" Mary asked.

Marshall shrugged. "We get supplies and come back out here looking."

"Okay, I guess you're right…"

They had flown to Omaha, Nebraska that morning to collect their newest witness, Tony Willis who was entering the program with his wife, Cassie and four year old son, Milo.

When Mary and Marshall had arrived at the meeting point, a cabin where the family and their inspectors had stayed the night, they were greeted by only two of the four marshals that had been on the case. The family had come from Florida and they insisted on taking a walk so Milo could play and build a snowman since it was the first time he had seen snow.

They knew that making the swap late could jeopardize things, since Marshall had mentioned another big snow storm heading their way and they had wanted to be out of the state, heading back to New Mexico by the time it hit. If they missed their flight or it was cancelled then they would have to either stay in Nebraska until the airports reopened and risk being tracked down or start making their way back by driving and neither of them wanted to embark on a 14 hour car journey during in a snow storm with a four year old.

After twenty minutes had passed and there was still no sign of them, Marshall called Stan while Mary laid into the marshals (who she nicknamed dumb and dumber) for allowing their witness to wonder off in the woods, even if two marshals (she called them dumbest and dumbly) were with them. Just as they were getting ready to send out a search party, Tony and one of the marshals turned up, telling them they had got separated from the others and it wasn't long before Cassie arrived with the remaining marshal but no Milo. It turned out that Cassie and Tony had a big argument, causing Cassie to storm off. While the marshals had decided to split so the couple could calm down, they both assumed Milo was with the other.

All hell started to break lose when they realized their mistake so Marshall and Mary quickly took control of the situation; Marshall speaking to the marshals and finding out the area they had walked while Mary got a description of the boy and ordered one of the other inspectors who had been waiting at the cabin to go and let the forest rangers know the situation.

Armed with the information, they ordered two of the marshal to stay with Tony and Cassie while they searched one area of the woods and the other two marshal went the other way.

After heading back in the direction they had come from for about 15 minutes, Marshall stopped suddenly.

"What?" Mary asked him.

"There's no footprints."

"What?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Who are you? Hansel or Gretel or something?"

Marshall rolled his eyes. "This isn't the way we came…Our footprints would still be there."

"Damn it."

"Give me the map...We walked for about an hour west when we first came out….I should be able to work out where we are." He held out his hand.

"Map?"

"Yeah, the map…The one I told you to grab," he said slowly but already knew she didn't have it by the look on her face.

"Why didn't you pick it up?" She asked defensively.

"I was too busy dealing with the hysterical mother!" He replied, running a hand down his face.

"Oh this is just great!" She threw her arms up in the air.

"Look, we can't have gone that far of track…" Marshall said soothingly.

"I should have known this day would get worse!" She continued, hitting out and striking a tree which caused a pile of snow from the branches above her to fall down. She let out an uncharacteristic shriek as it hit her neck and slid down her back.

She stood frozen for a moment until she was sure movement wouldn't cause any more to fall. When she looked up, she saw her partner watching her, his lip twitching as he fought the urge to smile. "Do not say a word!"

He held up his hands in defense. "Wouldn't dream of it."

"Yeah right…" She muttered sarcastically, reaching up to brush the snow from her head.

"Why don't we go back that way and we might be able to figure out where we went wrong?" He suggested.

"Not like we have any better plans…" She let out a frustrated sigh and started back the way they came; this time making sure to follow the footprints.

"Here."

She turned and saw Marshall holding out his pair of gloves. "I got gloves on already, nitwit."

"I know but they're not snow gloves…"

"Well, yeah because I didn't anticipate getting lost in the freaking snow!"

"They're not much thicker than yours but if you wear both pairs at least your hands will be warm."

"And what about your hands?"

"I got pockets." He shrugged. "Beside, I'm not the one with snow down the back of my shirt."

"It's melted so it's not snow anymore." She grumbled. "And if that is a smile I see on your face…"

"Take the gloves…warm up your hands." He forced her to take hold of them before quickly shoving his own hands into his jacket pocket.

"When we get back, I'm locking all of team dumbass outside." She said as she pulled on the gloves.

"If we get back." Marshall muttered, his eyes scanning the area for clues.

"Oh, we'll get back alright…if it's only to kill them."

The both came to a stop when they heard a beep and immediately reached into their pockets for their phones.

"I have messages and service." Mary reported, seeing the bars in the top corner.

"I got nothing." Marshall pocketed his phone again.

"Three from Stan and two from the bozos back at the cabin…"

"Mary…"

"Stan better be making their lives hell…" Mary started but stopped and frowned when he pushed past her. "What are you doing?"

She spun around and her eyes widened when she saw what caught his attention. Four year old Milo was sat with his back to them about 50 feet away….In the middle of a frozen pond.

"Oh hell…" She muttered, following her partner.

"Call for back up…Tell them we're by a pond somewhere in the west area." Marshall instructed, as he pulled off his jacket then his boots. "Let's hope this is only pond around here and they'll know exactly where to find us."

The phone was already to her ear. "What are you doing? You're going to freeze."

"It'll weight me down…" He told her, shivering a little as he pulled his sweatshirt over his head and then removed his belt.

Mary cursed, helpless as she watched him dropped to the ground before crawling slowly onto the ice. Finally, someone answered her call and she quickly explained the situation. Thankfully, they had a rescue team out searching for the boy and said they weren't too far from the pond.

Mary hung up and took a step closer to the ice.

"Mary, stay there…" Marshall halted his movement. He was now led stretched out on his front and had been slowly inching his way forward. "I don't know if the ice is strong enough to hold all of us…"

"If that's a joke about my weight…" Mary started, trying to lighten the mood but it fell flat.

Marshall glanced back at her. "Just tell me if you see any cracks on the ice."

"Jesus, be careful…" She told him as he started to move again.

Milo turned after hearing their voices and Marshall stopped once more. The little boy, slid back away from him, unsure.

"Milo?" Marshall called out, seeing the scared look on his face. "It's okay…We've been looking for you...I'm going to come to you, okay? You just stay there."

Milo didn't reply but did stay still as Marshall slowly made his way to him. Mary waited impatiently on the edge of the lake, willing the rescue team to hurry up.

Marshall finally reached Milo and carefully sat up a little, remembering that ice tended to be thicker in the middle compared to the edges.

"Hey, Milo…I'm Marshall." He said, checking him over quickly and saw no injuries but he was shivering and looked terrified. "We're going to get you back to your Mom and Dad, okay?"

The little boy looked up at him and nodded, lifting a gloved hand to wipe his runny nose.

"Okay, over there is my friend, Mary…" Marshall waved and Mary returned to the gesture. "What I need you to do is very slowly, crawl towards her, okay?"

Milo shook his head. "No, cold…"

"I know it's cold but I promise you when we get back I'll make you a big mug of hot chocolate…" Marshall told him. "With some marshmallows and we'll have some cookies as well…"

"Chocolate chip?"

"Any kind of cookie you like." Marshall smiled at him. "But first we need to get off this ice…So, do you think you can be brave and crawl over to Mary?"

Milo did hesitate slightly but finally nodded.

"Good man." Marshall grinned. "And don't worry…I'll be right behind you."

He made sure to direct Milo the way he had come, since he knew the ice had been thick enough to hold his weight.

They had got halfway when Mary heard noise behind her and almost relaxed when she saw it was the rescue team but it didn't last long when she realized Tony, Cassie and their marshals were there to.

"We told you keep them at the cabin!" Mary snapped at the marshals but before they could reply, Cassie ran past them to the pond.

"Milo!" She screamed in fear when she saw her little boy on the ice but luckily two of the recuse team managed to grab her, to stop her going any further.

"Mommy!"

"Milo, no!" Marshall lunched forwards but he didn't reach him in time to stop him getting to his feet and running towards his mother.

Mary turned and could do nothing but watch in horror as the little boy suddenly disappeared from view, leaving a hole in the ice in his place. Everything seemed to slow down and the only person, who reacted, was Marshall. He didn't hesitate in moving forward and following Milo into the freezing water.

"Marshall!"

The marshal and the recue had to restrain Cassie, Tony and Mary as they all rushed towards the pond.

"That's my partner!" Mary struggled.

"You'll make the situation a lot worse if we have to pull more people out of this pond!" One of the rescuers told her. "Lets us do our job!"

"Then help him!" She demanded unnecessarily because the team around her had already got to work.

"Just stay back." The guy gave her a gentle push away from the ice.

After what seemed like hours but was probably more like seconds, Marshall reappeared from beneath the surface and there was a sigh of relief when they heard a child crying.

Mary watched as her partner struggled to lift Milo out of the water and back onto the ice. The kid continued to cry and just sat there, helplessly while one member of the team crawled onto the ice, a rope tied securely around his waist. She briefly wondered why Marshall had stayed in the water but realized he must not want to put more weight on the now weakened ice.

"Come on, hurry up…" She muttered, shifting on her feet and tried to resist all urges of running forwards again.

The guy reached Milo pretty quickly and grabbed his hands before the rest of the team pulled them back to the edge of the pond by the rope. When they had almost made it back, Marshall started to try and pull himself out of the water.

"Oh god…" Mary whispered, watching him struggle but just when she he had done it, seeing him get half of his body out of the water the ice cracked again and crumbled beneath him, sending him back under water. "Marshall!"

By now Milo was back on dry landed, being carried to an ambulance that Mary hadn't even realized had arrived but all she could focus on was the hole in the eyes. Marshall re-appeared, coughing and trying to catch his breath. He clutched onto the side, unsure about trying to pull himself out again because he didn't think he would have the energy to resurface if he went under.

He forced himself to focus when he heard his name being called and it took a few seconds for him to work out it was Mary. He realized, he couldn't just float there, knowing that she was probably freaking out by now. With the last of his energy, he threw his arms up onto the ice and kicked his legs, trying to slide his way out of the water. He was almost there when he felt his legs starting to seize up and refused to move anymore but just as he thought he was going to slid back into the water, he felt a hand grab hold of his shirt, lifting him all the way onto the ice.

"Hey, you okay, man?" The guy asked, as Marshall rolled onto his back, his whole body shaking as he stared up towards the sky. "We're going to get you to safety, just stay calm…"

"As long as it's warm and dry then lead the way…" Marshall managed to stutter out as his teeth chattered and his whole body shook. "I'm Marshall by the way…"

"Eddie." The guy smiled, glad to hear Marshall talking. "Well, Marshall, I'm going to roll you on to this board and then we're going to pull you to safety…I want you to try and keep as still as possible."

"Wet clothes?" Marshall coughed and groaned as Eddie moved him onto the board.

"Yeah, normally we'd remove the wet clothes as soon as possible but I'm more concerned about this ice cracking again." Eddie replied as he secured Marshall to the board. "Also, I think your girl over there is going to rush over here any minute now if we don't get you off the ice…"

"Don't let her hear you calling her my girl or we'll both end up in the water."

"Noted." Eddie laughed a little. "Right, let's get moving."

Mary was pacing along of the edge of the pond, knowing that other members of the recuse team was keeping a eye on her. She watched as Marshall got closer to them, she still feared that he wouldn't get back safely and she didn't know if she could take seeing him disappearing under the ice again.

As soon as he was close enough to the edge, there was a flurry of activity as he was pulled onto the land and was surrounded by medics. Mary tried to push her way through but had settle to stand and watch from the sidelines as they cut his wet clothes from his body before wrapping one of those sliver warming blankets around him. She heard different words being said and tried to make sense of them but she just couldn't after hearing something about hypothermia and how his pulse and respiration rates had decreased dangerously low.

She could do nothing but helplessly follow them as they carried him to the ambulance. She had already made sure the others marshals were with Milo and his parents, so didn't hesitate to climb into the ambulance with her partner.

_**XxXxX**_

When Stan got the first phone from his inspectors saying that the witness had gone for a walk in the snow, which would possibly make them late; he had been thankful for about the millionth time that Mary had a partner like Marshall. While Marshall had given him the update, he could hear Mary ranting at the other marshals in the background. He trusted that Marshall would pull Mary back if she overstepped the mark but until then, he was quite happy for her to point out to them their idiotic move.

The next phone call from Marshall came a little while later, telling him that he and Mary were heading into the woods in search for their witness' four year old son, who had managed to get lost.

When he hadn't heard back from them 30 minutes later and both of their phones kept going straight to voicemail, he had started to worry. He spoke to one of the marshals had been on the handover team and he told him that they still hadn't returned to the cabin and that the snow was starting to fall heavily again.

He pulled some strings to get him to Omaha as quickly as possible and just after he disembarked at Omaha airport, he got ahold of Mary, who told she was at the hospital. He couldn't get much information out of her and all he understood, she was fine but Marshall was not.

Now he was hurrying down a corridor towards Mary, who was pacing at the other end.

Mary?" He called out, jogging the short distance. "How is he? Where he is? What the hell happened?"

"Those goddamn idiots lost the kid!" Mary gestured angrily behind her but when Stan peered over her shoulder, he saw they were alone. "We pretty much got lost ourselves looking for him and then found he had managed to sit himself down in the middle of goddamn frozen pond!"

"Right, okay so you found the boy…Good…How did Marshall end up here?"

Mary rubbed her forehead. "The dope crawled onto the ice to get Milo…They were about halfway back when the rescue team turned up…Team dumbass thought it was a good idea to bring Tony and Cassie… She screamed as soon as she saw Milo and because he's fours year old and was scared out of his mind, he stood up and ran to her…except the ice cracked and he went under….Marshall jumped in after him."

"Jesus…" Stan muttered. "How bad is it?"

"They haven't told me much about Marshall…" She reassumed her pacing. "Milo is fine… His temperature dipped for a while and they've given him a course of antibiotics and keeping him in overnight to be on the safe side but other than being terrified, he's going be okay…"

"Well, that's something."

"Yeah, they reckon that Marshall saved his life by getting him out of the water so quickly…" She sighed and sunk into a chair. "Regardless of his own life…"

"Well, I bet he didn't have much time to think about the risks to himself."

"He couldn't get himself out, Stan…" She whispered. "He tried but it was like he had no strength…then he fell back under the water and I thought…"

"Hey, come on…" He said softly, sitting down beside her. "It can't be that bad…"

"The guy that helped get him out said he had been talking when he first got to him…within a few minutes he was unconscious." She informed him. "The medics were saying some things about hypothermia and that he was struggling to breathe…"

"He's strong and healthy." Stan cut in firmly. "He's in the right place…I bet as soon as they get him warmed up, he'll be fine…"

"Then why haven't they come out to see me yet?" She asked. "Why haven't they told me what's going on?"

"Just give them time…"

"I looked hypothermia up…it can cause organs to fail… he could die, Stan."

"What the hell are you doing going on Google when you haven't got your encyclopedia of a partner here?" He reprimanded teasingly. "You know he doesn't let you go on there alone…He told me, you get crazy ideas…"

"Stan," Mary gave him a look. "I'm serious…"

"Marshall is going to be fine." He told her softly. "Now, what happened to the Willis family and their marshals?"

"A nurse organized a waiting room for us…" She pointed back down the hall. "Cassie is sat with Milo but Tony is in there going over some things."

"Why are you out here and not in there?" Stan dreaded to ask.

"I figured, you wouldn't want to do the paperwork for me shooting them."

"Good call…" Stan replied and stood up. "I'm going to go have a chat with them then make a call about them getting relocated…You and Marshall are off the case."

"You couldn't have called that play a couple of hours ago?"

"Sorry, kiddo…wish I would have." Stan patted her shoulder before heading down the corridor. "Come get me if you hear anything about Marshall…"

"Yeah…" She replied, leaning forward and rested her elbows on her knees as she racked her fingers through her hair. "If they never come and tell me anything…"

A few minutes later, she saw Stan stepping back into the corridor but didn't rejoin her; instead he pulled out his cell phone and began making some calls.

All Mary's energy had seemed to have drained from her, so she had stayed in her seat. Her phone buzzed for what seemed like the millionth time. Since she knew it wouldn't be Stan or Marshall, there was only two other people it could be, Brandi or Jinx. With a sigh, she pulled it out of her pocket and saw her sister's name flashing on the caller ID; she was actually thankful that it wasn't her mother.

"What, Brandi?" She asked tiredly.

There was a slight pause and she knew her sister was thinking the best way to stay.

"What time will you be home?" She asked, almost timidly.

"I don't know…not tonight." She replied, knowing there would be no way they would let Marshall leave tonight if they were keeping Milo in.

"But it's Mom's birthday…"

"Brandi, I'm sorry but I can't deal with that right now." She leaned back until her head rested against the wall and closed her eyes.

"This is the first birthday she's going to have without drinking…" Brandi continued. "She has done so well this year, Mary…please…"

"I'm at a hospital somewhere in Nebraska…" She snapped. "There's not a lot I can do it about…"

"Hospital?" Brandi repeated. "Oh my god, Mary…."

"I'm fine." She said quickly, feeling a little guilty when she heard the concern in her sister's voice. "Marshall…He's not okay…I mean, I'm still waiting to speak with his doctor so I don't know how he is…"

"Marshall? What happened?" Brandi asked. "Do you need us to come out there? Peter is here…"

"No, Brandi, stay there." She cut in. "Go out and celebrates Mom's birthday…"

"But Mary…"

"I got to go." She told her, after her name being called by a doctor.

"Wait…"

"I'll call you later." She hung up the phone and stood up. "Stan!"

Her boss looked up quickly and after seeing the doctor he ended his call as he walked down to join them.

"How Marshall?" Mary asked.

"Well, falling into cold water like Inspector Mann did can cause a number of problems….Hypothermia is the main one." The doctor started, gesturing to the row of chairs but neither Mary nor Stan sat down. "As you probably expected his core temperature dropped down too low after being in the water."

"Right." Mary nodded, remembering she had read something about that. "But you can fix that? Once he's been warmed up, it will return to normal?"

"Yes, that's the idea but we've struggled to raise his temperature…" The doctor stated but continued quickly when he saw the panic on their faces. "It's is going up now but it's still not where we ideally want it..."

"So, what does that mean?" Stan asked in concern.

"We're giving him warm fluid via an intravenous and we also have him wrapped up in a special air blanket which blows warm air onto his body." He told them. "We're keeping him closely monitor at the moment but we're hoping this will do the trick."

"So, we just wait?" Mary asked.

"For the time being, yes…Like I said, we're keeping him monitored to make sure his temperature keeps raising and also to make sure his organs are functioning correctly."

"And once you get his temperature up, you think he'll be okay?" Stan asked.

"Well, there could still be some complications but we haven't seen any symptoms for organ damage which is a good sign and we're also starting him on a course of antibiotics to ward of any infections."

"Is he awake?" Mary questioned. "He was unconscious when he came in…"

"He's been drifting in and out of consciousness but that's to be expected."

"Can I see him?"

"Of course but I must warn you, sometimes patients suffering with hypothermia can become confused and find it hard to focus so please don't be alarm if he doesn't seem like himself." The doctor said as he led them down the corridor and then opened the door. "If you have any questions or concerns then ask one of the nurses to reach me."

"Thank you, doctor…." Stan shook his hand before following Mary into the room.

They stood side by side, looking down at Marshall who was surrounded by different machines, all beeping or making whirring noise. His skin was deathly pale, his breathing was shallow and slow.

Stan placed a hand on Mary's back and gently guided her over to the chair at the side of the bed. She had had a hard day too and he knew it wouldn't be for another couple days before she started to relax.

"Mare?" Marshall mumbled, his head turning slightly and his eyes barely opened. "Stan?"

"Hey." She smiled at him.

"Why are you in my bedroom?" He frowned.

"We just come to see how you were feeling." Stan supplied.

"Oh…okay." Marshall accepted easily. "I have chicken for dinner."

Mary glanced up at Stan when Marshall closed his eyes again. She knew the doctor had said this was normal but it freaked her out a little, seeing him like it.

"Sorry, Mare…"

She turned back to her partner quickly. "Sorry for what?"

"I don't have pie."

Despite her thought just seconds ago, she couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "It's okay, doofus…I'll get us some pie."

"Okay…"

The rest of the night went pretty much the same way. Every now and then, Marshall would wake up confused but by the next morning, the doctor had told them his temperature had risen to where they wanted it.

Stan had left around lunch time, having to return to Albuquerque but only after Mary assured him, it was okay with her. She was planning on staying with Marshall until he was well enough to return and Stan hadn't argued about allowing her the time off.

The evening came around and despite still being a little drowsy as well as having trouble with his co-ordination he was starting to become his normal self again.

"So, Milo has gone home?" He asked for the second time, breaking the comfortable silence. "He's really okay?"

Mary had been flicking through one of the many magazines Stan had left for Marshall. "Yes, he is fine but I bet he won't want to go out and play in the snow any time soon."

"Him and me both…" Marshall replied.

Mary lifted her feet up so they rested on the side of his bed. "You still look exhausted…Why don't you go back to sleep?"

"Why are you being nice to me?" He asked.

"Because you almost died, you idiot." She rolled her eyes.

"It'll take a lot more than a little ice to get rid of me…" He replied as he settled down and pulled his blanket tighter around him. Although the doctor had told him, his temperature was normal, he still felt cold. "Hey, Mare?"

"What now?"

"It was white, wasn't it?"

She looked up at him in concern, thinking they had moved past the confusion, delirious stage. "What?"

"Yesterday when we were walking through the woods and you started playing eye spy…The answer was white, wasn't it?"

She stared at him, wondering if he had actually lost his mind but then saw that little smirk on his face; the same smirk he had after she got covered in snow when she hit the tree.

"Shut up!"

"I knew it."

**The End.**

**Sadly, I'm not a doctor so sorry if any of the medical stuff was wrong. I hope you liked it, please review and let me know! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Please keep them coming. This chapter is a bit longer than the others so I hope you don't get bored. The prompt was sent to me by Carmenscakes1….I'm pretty sure this is not what you had in mind so I hope you don't mind. **

**Prompt: **

_**Mary and Marshall – Green eyed monster.**_

**The Bet**

"Ah, Mary, I would like you to meet Inspector Donati." Stan gestured to the woman stood behind him when Mary buzzed herself into the office on Monday morning.

"Call me Natalia, please." The woman smiled and held out a hand.

"Mary Shannon." Mary greeted but as always was weary of the newcomer.

"Natalia has been loaned out to us for the month…" Stan informed her. "She's considering a transfer into Wit-Sec and her boss over in Phoenix suggested she get a taster before making any decisions."

"I was told this was the best office to come to…You guys have an impressive record." Natalia added. "I was surprised considering you have less staff then most other offices."

"Uh-huh…" Mary replied, trying to get a read on this girl and figure out if she was just sucking up or was genuine.

She looked like she was in her early 30s and Mary took a guess at saying the new girl spent way too long on her appearance. Her thick, glossy brunette hair had a slight wave and was half down her back. She had flawless olive skin and appeared to be wearing very little makeup but was probably wearing twice as much as Mary. She had a killer body and even to Mary's untrained eye, she knew her clothes were designer.

Mary had always hated women like her but even more so since she had barely had time to run a brush through her hair now she had Norah to deal with in the morning as well as going through the list of rules with Jinx.

"Oh and here comes Inspector Parmalee…" Stan said before the conversation could go any further. "Delia, this is Natalia Donati, she'll be working with us for a while."

"Oh hi…Delia Parmalee, I'm the office's baker." Delia smiled welcomingly at her and pulled a Tupperware box. "Cappuccino muffin?"

"Wow, they looking amazing." Natalia picked one up.

"They're my specialty…" Delia was in the middle of saying when Mary reached in and grabbed one on her way to her desk.

"So, where's my partner?" She looked at Stan. "There is something not right if I can organize an eight month baby and my mother and still beat him into work…"

"Well, Mary, he and Abigail live together now…Maybe they decided to have a lie in…" Delia suggested with a grin.

"Ew gross." Mary pulled a face. "That's my partner you're talking about…"

"He started work an hour ago." Stan interrupted. "Joanne Mitchell has a job interview later, Marshall said she was pretty nervous so he gone to give her some advice."

"Oh wait until you meet Marshall…" Delia said to Natalia. "Can ask him any question and he'll know the answer…"

"But please don't." Mary added as she took a bite of her muffin. "I haven't had enough to sleep to cope with Marshall-pedia."

"Actually, I believe Inspector Donati already knows Marshall."

Mary's head snapped up to look at her. "You do?"

Natalia smiled. "We worked together when he was in the Phoenix office."

"He never mentioned you were coming here." Mary stated and then looked towards the boss. "Is this even allowed?"

"I don't see any problem with Inspector Donati observing the best wit-sec team the US Marshals have." Stan rocked on his heels lightly.

"And Marshall doesn't know I'm coming." Natalia added. "It's been so long since we've seen each other, I want to surprise him."

Mary narrowed her eyes at the younger woman. "Just how closely did you work with Marshall? Were you partners?"

"Oh no, he never had a partner." She claimed. "But pretty much everyone in the office got along so well that we all used to hang out all the time…"

Mary couldn't help but think that it would have been her worst nightmare to work in an office like that but there was a part of her that was relieved that Natalia hadn't been Marshall's partner. She had never thought about Marshall's past partnerships mainly because he had never talked about it and the marshals she had to work with never last very long. She didn't like the idea of Marshall having another partner other than her and she couldn't help but wonder whether he had been as close to them as he was to her.

The sound of the door buzzing brought her back to the present in time see Marshall entering the office, his eyes fixed on his blackberry as he fingers flew over the buttons.

"Ah, Marshall…We have a new inspector with us for a few weeks." Stan told him.

"New inspector? I'm not telling Mary." He said without looking up.

"Too late." Mary stated as she peeled off the wrapper of her muffin.

This time, he did left his head to look over at his partner. "You're here already? What happened? Someone set your clocks an hour earlier without you realizing?"

"Haha!" She rolled her eyes and took a big bite out of the muffin.

Marshall smirked at her and then turned to greet the new inspector but his mouth fell open when he saw who it was.

"Talia?"

"Surprise!"

"What are you doing here?" He asked, stunned.

"I've been loaned to you guys so I can get a feel for wit-sec." She explained as she hugged him. "It's just bonus that we get to hang out again."

Marshall shot Stan a look. "You know that we…"

"Chief Philips gave me a rundown on your history before I agreed with it." Stan assured him then paused for a second. "Maybe I should have consulted you before I said yes."

Marshall waved a hand dismissively. "No, its fine…It's great."

"Well, if everyone is happy then Natalia, why don't you spend the morning with Charlie and Delia...They have a young couple coming in and you can sit in while they go through the MOU." Stan suggested. "Then you can go on some visits with Mary and Marshall this afternoon."

"Sounds like a plan!" Delia beamed. "We'll happily show her the ropes."

Mary rolled her eyes and turned her attention to her computer now it had finished booting up. She tried to ignore the feeling in the pit of her stomach… A feeling that she had never experienced truly until Marshall had started dating Abigail. She refused to admit it was jealously….She didn't get jealous….Except Marshall started spending with someone else after work and now there was this other woman who had worked with him in past. She always thought their partnership was different but maybe it wasn't…maybe he had partners and friends all over the country.

_**xXxXx**_

That night, like every Monday evening Norah was staying at Mark's. She always hated going home to empty house; despite a few years ago it was all that she wished for. Mark was a good father and had been willing to work around Mary's schedule so it meant every Monday and every other Saturday night, Norah slept at his house. So didn't take a lot for Delia and Marshall to convince Mary to join them, Natalia and Abigail for dinner.

The afternoon having Natalia tagging along with them had not put Mary in a very good mood. The other woman mainly talked about things that had happened when Marshall had worked in Phoenix. Marshall had tried to include Mary into the conversation, especially since she was quiet; which was a sure sign that something was wrong but she knew her partner wouldn't dare ask what was up in front of someone else.

Delia had been the one to suggest they all grab something to eat and when Marshall mentioned it to Abigail over the phone, she invited herself along. Mary had planned on making an excuse to leave after the first drink but then she noticed something interesting from her seat next to Delia, across the table from the other three. Abigail was shooting daggers at Natalia and had her arm linked possessively through Marshall's as he sat uncomfortably between the two of them.

"I'm going to grab some more drinks…" Marshall said when there was a break in conversation.

"Oh, I'll come and help you carry them." Delia offered as she jumped up from the booth.

"Same again?" Marshall glanced around the table after gracefully moving past Abigail, who kept ahold of his hand until it was necessary to let go.

They all nodded and Mary pulled out her phone once her partner walked towards the bar. She had just finished a text to Mark, checking up on Norah for the third time when Abigail spoke.

"So, Natalie… Marshall said the two of you date for almost three years." She said so casually that it was unmistakably bitchy.

Mary's head snapped up, completely forgetting about the text. "You dated?"

"It's Natalia." She corrected Abigail before looking at Mary. "Yeah, we just clicked the moment we met."

"But you worked together."

"Like I said earlier…We weren't partners and our boss knew all about it so he wasn't that bothered." She shrugged.

"He said you broke up because you both wanted different things…"

Mary rolled her eyes, at Abigail's green eyed monster's routine and Natalia's smugness of the reaction she was getting from the other woman.

"He wanted to settle down…I wanted to concentrate on my career." She answered. "It was one of the biggest mistakes I've made…"

"Well, I'm sure you've both moved on now…" Abigail stated. "I mean, I know Marshall has…"

"I'm not so sure about that…"

Mary's eyed widened and she could do nothing but watch what she was sure was going to be a car crash moment.

"What?"

"I've not moved on." Natalia said boldly. "The real reason I'm here is to get Marshall back."

For a moment, Mary thought Abigail was going to hit the other woman and briefly wondered what Marshall would say if she let his girlfriend and ex-girlfriend have a catfight in a middle of a restaurant.

"You're not getting him back." Abigail said sounding calmer then she looked.

"We'll see about that." Natalia just shrugged. "We have a pretty big history."

"Won't matter…What Marshall and I have is strong."

Natalia paused for a moment before a small smile appeared on her face. "You wanna bet on that?"

"What?"

"The winner gets Marshall…"

"What are you, ten years old?" Mary scoffed. "You're fighting over him like he's a doll!"

"It's not a fight…" Abigail replied but her eyes were on Natalia. "It's no contest…I'm going to win."

"We'll see about that." Natalia held out a hand. "We'll just let Marshall decides who he wants."

"Fine." Abigail shook her hand.

"Here we go…" Delia arrived back at the table with a tray of drink but alone.

"Where's Marshall?" Mary asked, looking back towards the bar.

"He just got a phone call, so he stepped outside." She replied as she slid into the booth next to Mary again. "So, did I miss anything?"

"Nothing important…" Natalia smiled at her as she got to her feet. "Well, girls…It's been a long day so I think I'm going to call it a night…"

Abigail glared at her again when she pushed past her to get out of the booth.

"Oh, well we'll see you in a morning." Delia frowned a little.

"Good night." She swung her bag over her shoulder and headed for a door.

Abigail watched her a second before getting her feet when she realized the other woman was probably going out to see Marshall.

"What was all that about?" Delia questioned as Abigail quickly headed for the exit too.

"Oh they got a stupid bet going on…" Mary waved a hand dismissively.

"What kind of bet?"

"Natalia has bet that she can get Marshall back...the winner is whoever Marshall chooses."

"Well, that doesn't seem very fair to Marshall…" Delia frowned a little.

"He'll be fine." She claimed. "If he finds out, he'll probably be flattered to have the attention."

"You think so?"

"He's a guy…Of course he'll love the fact that two women are fighting over him."

"I guess you know him best…" Delia replied but still sounded unsure.

Mary knew she was wrong…She knew Marshal would hate this kind of attention and would not appreciate the bet but she could not help but feel this was the best way for Marshall to see how wrong both the women are for him and she could finally have her a friend back.

_**XxXxX**_

The next day, Mary had almost forgotten about the bet between Abigail and Natalia since she hadn't stopped all morning. First there was a problem with Karen Mill's apartment and then she had a pile of paperwork to deal with that she had put off over the weekend. It wasn't until Natalia invited Marshall to join her for lunch that Mary stopped what she was doing and looked up to watch the pair.

"Delia was telling about this great Spanish place just a few minutes from here…I know you love Spanish food." Natalia sat on the edge of his desk, just to the right of his chair. "My treat."

Marshall smiled up at her. "Sorry, I've got some paperwork to do before doing my rounds later…I'm going to eat out my desk."

"Oh, well I'll go out and grab us something and maybe I could help you." She offered. "I mean, I'm here to learn, right?"

"I appreciate the offer but I've already got my lunch." He replied. "And I thought you were going out with Delia and Charlie to check up on their witnesses?"

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind…"

"If you're serious about Wit-Sec, if best to get as much field work as possible." He advised. "But if you're going out on a lunch run, then Mary won't turn you down."

"A sandwich would be great." Mary called over, smirking when Natalia looked a little thrown by the hitch in her plan but she recovered quickly and stood up, flicking her hair over shoulder before flashing Marshall a smile.

"Well, I'll let you get back to your paperwork…" She squeezed his shoulder. "Maybe we can get some dinner tonight…Have a real catch up."

"Sounds good." Marshall returned the smile and Mary rolled her eyes, knowing he was oblivious to Natalia's actions.

Delia had agreed to tag along with Natalia to get lunch and Mary waited until the elevator door closed after they stepped on before speaking.

"For a highly intelligent man, you really are clueless sometimes."

He looked up at her, his forehead creasing in confusion. "What?"

"Nothing…" She shook her head. "You do know that paperwork on your desk is mine and not yours?"

"We can get it finished over lunch if we both do it." He shrugged, pushing his chair back and standing up.

She got up as well and followed him to the small kitchenette. "I can do my own work…I just got a bit behind over the weekend…"

He glanced at her over his shoulder as he opened the fridge. "You never turned down my help with your paperwork before…"

The truth was she didn't want anyone to think she couldn't do her job as well as being a full time mom.

"You don't have to do it the hard way …No one is going to think any less of you." He turned to face her with a plastic lunchbox in his hand. "If filling in a few forms for you means you can get home in time to give Norah her dinner and bath, then let me help."

She was surprised by the feeling on guilt washing over her when she remembered that she can always count on Marshall to help her out, even when she didn't ask for it. Her mind automatically went to the night before and although she had nothing to do with the bet between Abigail and Natalia, she knew she should have probably done something to stop it or at least tell her friend what they had planned. She knew he would probably be mortified by the idea of a being a prize in a bet and also offended that they thought so little of him and his feelings She battled with her conscience, trying to reason why she should keep quiet. She found it difficult to believe that he would just ditch Abigail in favor of an ex-flame and she was pissed on his behalf that his girlfriend didn't know that herself. Marshall had never given any indication that he couldn't be trusted…ever…He was the most loyal person she knew and Abigail was meant to love him. How were they meant to have a future together if she didn't trust him? So really, she was doing the right thing but not getting involved. This way, Marshall found out the truth himself and she was pretty sure the end result would be the best for everyone.

"So, since when do you bring a packed lunch?" Mary grabbed the lunchbox from him, knowing he would begin to worry something was wrong if she just let it go.

"Abigail made it." He hesitated to tell her, knowing he would probably be mocked for it and tried to snatch the box back but she held it out of his reach.

He preferred to buy his lunch because he never knew what he would fancy eating by the time lunch came around but he didn't have the heart to tell Abigail that when she proudly produced his lunch to him that morning.

"Well, let's see what we've got." Mary pulled it open and then smirked as she pulled out a sandwich; the bread cut into a shape of a heart.

Marshall suppressed a groan of embarrassment and quickly took it from. "Don't say a word…."

"Does she cut that herself or does she use one of those cookie cutters things?" She teased, this time letting him have the lunchbox.

"Do you want me to help with your paperwork or not?" He asked turning and walking back towards his desk.

"Depends…You going to draw hearts all over it?"

He sent her a long suffering look but decided not to comment.

"I mean, she knows you're not in high school, right?"

"She was doing something nice." He claimed. "She's making an effort…."

"Yeah right…" Mary laughed sarcastically, knowing the real motive behind it.

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing." She shook her head. "So, are you going to share that food or what?"

Marshall blindly reached into the lunchbox and tossed a tinfoil packages her way.

"Snickerdoodles…Result." She said after unwrapping them, not feeling guilty for stealing her partner's lunch since he didn't actually like Snickerdoodles and there was also a part of her that was happy that Abigail didn't know that, otherwise she wouldn't have placed them in his 'romantic' lunch.

"Wait until you try them…" Marshall commented after she already had bitten into one.

"Urgh!" She spat it out, unladylike. "What the hell is that?"

"Let's just say I'm the chef in our relationship." He grinned at her.

Mary glared at him before dumping the remaining cookies in the trashcan.

"Here." This time he threw her a candy bar. "If you're a good girl and get your paperwork done, I'll buy you an ice cream after we've checked up on Tilly Conners."

"I'm not a child…"

"You still want that ice cream though, don't you?" He never once took his eyes on the computer monitor.

"Well, you know me…I never turn down a free ice cream."

"That's my girl." He said casually before losing himself completely in his paperwork.

Mary couldn't help but stare at him, the candy bar halfway to her mouth. It was something he had been saying for years…She had almost punched him the first time he said it until she caught sight of his idiotic grin and realized he said it to rile her up. She somehow managed to keep control, refusing to give him the satisfaction by rising to the bait. Now, some eight years later, the saying had a whole new meaning. She wondered when she started to view it as a term of endearment but at some a point she had started to like hearing it. She felt a knot in her stomach but she realized he must not put as much thought into that sentence as she did because she wasn't his girl…not really…Abigail was and now there was Natalia who even after all these years still had a pretty good connection with him. She wondered just how many times he threw out the 'that's my girl' line.

_**XxXxX**_

As the week went on, Mary was equally amused and annoyed by the bet. She was amused to see two grown women throw themselves at a guy, trying to outdo each other at every turn and also because Marshall was still oblivious to their game. Then the annoyance would creep in when she realized that the other women had no clue what Marshall really wanted or needed, so it just strengthened her silent argument that neither of them were good enough for him or would make him happy.

Delia had approached her a few times throughout the week and questioned whether or not it was a good idea to let it carry on. She told Mary that all week Natalia had been questioning her about Marshall and his life in Albuquerque while she had been showing her around. While Delia didn't know Marshall as well as Mary did, she could guess that he wouldn't like the idea of the bet, especially since they knew about it too. She knew if she was in Marshall's position she would feel humiliated and let down if her colleagues went along with it.

Several times Mary had almost been ready to break and tell Marshall what was going on but something always came up that would make her change her mind.

It wasn't until the Friday when there was a possible breech for Martin Summers and his family when his teenage daughter got in contact with her ex-boyfriend that things started to go wrong. Martin was Mary's witness and he had always been the nervous type, asking her a hundred and one questions but then he would go and ask Marshall the exact same questions after she answered. What made things worse, was his behavior made his wife and two teenage daughters nervous too. He also always managed to irate Mary and this latest situation was no different. 16 year old Tammy Summers insisted she hadn't done anything wrong but her younger sister Milly claimed she had heard her bragging to her friends and showing them her boyfriend's Facebook page.

Martin had all but packed up all his belongings and was ready to hit the road while his wife, Helen sat, crying about leaving another life behind and the two girls just agued. Mary tried to keep her cool with handling them all and again, she was forced to realize just how much she relied on Marshall to play the peace keeper. He had split Tammy and Milly up….Calmed Helen down and reassured Martin that they were perfectly safe and would be protected no matter what.

With his attention and focus on Mary and her witnesses seemed to make both Abigail and Natalia up the game when it came to the bet. Both of them fawning over him and asking what they could do to help. Marshall and Stan were quite confused about their behavior since Natalia should have been working with Delia and Charlie while Abigail had only got involved when Martin had called 991, claiming someone was outside his house, trying to get in and they had called in a favor to get the local PD away once Mary and Marshall had turned up.

Mary had been losing her patience by the time Abigail offered to give Marshall a backrub to help with the stress and spoke to Stan about getting her kicked out their office before she did it herself. While Stan liked Abigail, he couldn't argue with Mary. The detective, for some reason had seemed to have forgotten about professionalism. After Marshall declined her offer and seeing her taking it personally, Stan decided to step in before they had a domestic in the middle of the office or Mary followed through on her threat to get rid of Abby herself.

Stan didn't miss the smug look Natalia sent Abigail as Marshall informed her he probably wouldn't be home until late. Stan thought things might kick off between the two women but fortunately, Delia seemed to sense something was up and dragged Natalia into the kitchen area to make coffees while Abigail reluctantly left the office.

He sighed, wondering just what Natalia true intentions were. Was she really considering joining wit-sec or was she here to stir up trouble for Marshall. When Chief Mike Philips over in Phoenix had got in touch about the temporary transfer, he had been up front about the relationship Marshall and Natalia had. He had been their Chief at the time and claimed they got on well on the occasions they worked together, even after their break up. He had said the reason they broke up was because they decided they wanted different things and were better off as friends. Stan had been so looking forward to having an extra marshal in the office, that he was willing to overlook the personal connection this once since Mike, Natalia and Marshall had all insisted there wouldn't be a problem.

"Where'd Marshall go?" Natalia asked, standing in the middle of the office with a steaming cup of coffee.

"Mary and he went to check up on Summers family…" Charlie informed them all, since Stan hadn't even noticed the pair had left.

"Oh…" She said disappointedly. "I could have gone with him…."

"Inspector Donati…I think we should have a talk." Stan said, opening his office door and gesturing her inside then continued when he saw panic in her eyes. "Just a catch up…See how you're getting on and feeling about working in witness protection."

She hesitated before eventually sat the coffee down and walked into the office.

_**XxXxX**_

"Oh for the love of god…" Mary exclaimed when she walked into the conference room later that day and found both Abigail and Natalia.

"Ah, Mary…" Delia rushed in behind her, anticipating trouble when she had seen the bad mood her follow inspector had returned to the office in. "Abigail was just to tell us that the report from the 911 call has been cleared…."

"Oh, so you're not here for anything else?" Mary folded her arms and glared at the two women.

"Actually, I thought I would wait for Marshall." Abigail got to her feet. "We haven't seen much of each this week so…"

"It's pathetic really…" Mary rolled her eyes. "The two of you with your silly little childish bet…"

"What bet?"

Mary froze at the voice coming from behind her and slowly turned around to see her partner standing in the doorway.

"Marshall…" Abigail started.

"What bet, Abigail?" He looked at his girlfriend.

"It's nothing…" Natalia flashed him a smile and stood up from the table.

"Then tell me what it is." He replied.

"Like Mary said, it was just a childish game…"

"Mare?" He turned his attention to his best friend since he wasn't getting an answer from the two women.

She opened her mouth, ready to tell him the truth when it suddenly hit her that he might be pissed at her for not telling him what was going on.

"Nothing…" She shook her head. "Just forget it…"

"Delia?" He moved on the final woman, not ready to let this go. They had all been acting strange for the past week but since he had been so busy he hadn't had much time to question it.

Delia looked from him to Natalia and Abigail, both of them pleading silently with her to keep quiet. She then glanced at Mary, who shook her head slightly but when she turned back to Marshall, she knew she couldn't lie to him.

"Natalia made a bet with Abigail that she could win you back…" She said quickly before she could stop herself.

There was silence in the room for a few seconds, while the women all waited for what kind of reaction the bet would get.

"Marshall…" Abigail was the first to speak but as she made a move towards him, he turned and left the room, slamming the door loudly behind him.

_**XxXxX**_

The next day when Mary entered the office, she sighed when she saw Marshall's desk empty. She had been calling him all night and left a load of messages which he hadn't returned. She was hoping that if she arrived early enough today, she would be able to talk to him before everyone else arrived.

He still hadn't turned up an hour later but by then Stan, Delia and Natalia had arrived. Stan had said good morning and went straight into his office while Natalia quietly got on with some paperwork she had been working on. Mary watched Delia place a cardboard box on Marshall's desk, guessing it was strawberry cupcakes; his favorite.

Mary kept trying to call Marshall for the next 30 minutes but he wouldn't pick up his cell and she was about to go talk to Stan, concerned about him when Abigail banged on the door. Delia was the one that let her in since Mary would have been quite happy to let her stand out there.

"I need to talk to Marshall…" She said looking around the office for him.

"Well, he's not here." Mary answered. "His computer is not turned on so I'm guessing he hasn't been in yet."

Abigail paused and Mary saw even more concern spreading across her face. "He didn't come home last night…"

"What?"

"He didn't come home and he wouldn't answer my calls…I haven't seen him since he left here."

"Stan?!" Mary called out as she got to her feet.

"What's up?" The chief left his office to join them.

"Give me your phone?" Mary held out her hand; Marshall might not answer when he saw her name on his caller ID but he wouldn't ignore a call from Stan.

"No."

"No?"

"You just want to trick Marshall into taking you call." He guessed.

"You know where he is?" Delia asked him.

"I do." He informed them. "He's gone with Charlie to help with a new case."

"With Charlie?!" Mary exclaimed. "But I'm his partner."

"We figured you wouldn't want to be called out at 1am with Norah at home…Marshall was already at the office and offered to handle it."

"So, he's okay?" Abigail let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, I wouldn't say he's okay…He's angry at hell at you all." Stan informed them. "What were you thinking?"

"We weren't…" Natalia claimed quietly.

"This is a Marshal office not a high school." He continued. "And Detective, I know I'm not your boss but believe me, I will call your chief and have you banned from working with us if you ever pull a stunt like this again…"

Abigail's eyes widened. "I won't, I'm sorry…I never meant for things to turn out like this."

"Well, I'm not going to get involved in your relationship…" He casted his eyes towards Natalia. "You shouldn't have either…"

"Chief…"

"No, you had no right coming here and messing around with my friend." He told her. "If you still had true feelings for Marshall then you should have been up front with him…If you knew him at all, you would know that's the best route to go…Honesty is a big deal to him…"

"I know." She hung her head, appropriately scolded.

"And you two…" He looked to Delia and Mary now that he was on a roll. "You're meant to be his friends and colleagues…He trusts you have to his back at all times…"

"Come on, Stan…" Mary started defensively even know she knew he was right.

"Look, let's just all get back to work…With Marshall and Charlie both out the office today we have a lot to get done." He held up his hand to stop her from continuing. "They'll be back tonight, so I'm sure everything else can wait till then."

Stan effectively ended the conversation by returning to his office, leaving the four women to remain where they were. Mary was the first to move, sighing loudly and going back to her desk, ignoring the others as they also quietly went back to what they had been doing. As she watched Abigail, silently leaving the office, she looked heartbroken and Mary couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her. She could tell the detective probably believed that her relationship with Marshall was over and Mary just hoped that if it was, it wouldn't also be the end of his friendship with her too.

_**XxXxX**_

Mary had given up trying to get a reply from Marshall around 6pm when she had left the office and now it was almost 9:30 on Saturday evening, she was sulking around her house with nothing to do. It was Mark's Saturday to have Norah and the night alone had given her time to think about everything that had happened the past week. She had felt guilty, annoyed, upset and angry all rolled into one. She just wanted to talk to Marshall and try to explain her side of the story…If she could explain. Even though she thought her intentions might been for the good, so Marshall could see how better off he was without Abigail and Natalia, she couldn't help but think about how she would feel if the roles were reserved and he had kept something like this from her.

When she heard a knock on the door, she froze for a second, wondering who it could be before realizing there was only one person who would just turn up at this time of night without warning. She quickly crossed the room and pulled open the door to find Marshall stood on the doorstep.

"Norah is at Mark's tonight, right?" He asked.

"Yeah…"

"Good." He held up a six pack of beer. "Drink?"

She gave him a smile and pushed the door open wider to allow him in.

"So, did everything go okay with the new witness?" She asked, leading him into the kitchen watching as he took two bottles from the pack and put the rest in the fridge.

"Yeah, its Charlie's case…I was just lending a hand." He answered.

"Good." She grabbed a bag of chips from the cupboard before heading for the couch, leaving him to follow with the beers. "Have you spoken to Abigail? She was worried about you."

He handed her one bottle once he sat beside her. "I just come from the house…"

"Right, so are you guys okay?"

"We broke up."

"You did?"

"Yeah and I spoke with Stan, we decided that it's probably best if Natalia went back to Phoenix." He added.

"Right, so you broke up with Nancy Drew and you sent America's next top model away…" Mary summarized. "Why are you here? You going to tell me you want a new partner?"

"Mare…."

"God, Marshall…I did you favor." She exclaimed, getting to her feet. "Did you really want to be stuck with someone who didn't trust you and thought they could manipulate you?"

"Mary…"

"And it's not like it was my idea for them to make that stupid bet!"

"I don't want a new partner!" He raised his voice to be heard.

She stopped and looked down at him. "You don't?"

"No." He shook his head. "I mean, I wish you had told me but Mary, you're my best friend…Do you really think I would throw away our friendship over something like this?"

"Oh." She dropped back down to the couch. "But what about Abigail? She's your girlfriend and you haven't forgiven her?"

"That's different… Natalia and she were the ones that made the bet and she did it out of jealously and lack of trust." He answered. "I don't claim to be the perfect boyfriend but I haven't done anything for her to have doubts."

"Maybe I should have pointed that out to her when they first started talking about the bet…" Again guilt washed over her. While she wasn't sorry to see Abigail go, she didn't like that Marshall had gotten hurt.

"Wouldn't have made a difference…In my experience when the green-eyed monster appears in a relationship then it doesn't go away, no matter what the circumstances." He shrugged. "And with our job, there are bound to be things I can't tell her and she would always be wondering what it was I was keeping from her."

"Yeah, I guess that is true…" She thought back to her relationship with Raphael and how she thought by telling what she really did might get him to stop asking questions but it never. "So, we're okay?"

"Yeah, we're okay." He nodded. "I just don't keep anything like that from again."

"You should know that Delia wanted to tell you." Mary found herself saying. "She kept trying to get us all to fess up."

Marshall smiled a little. "She left some cupcakes on my desk…She was pretty much forgiven then."

"Good." She fell back against the couch and took a mouth of beer, watching him for a moment as he picked at the label of the beer bottle. "You should be flattered really…Two women fighting over you."

Marshall gave her a small smile, knowing she was trying to lighten the mood. "Well, I'm not that kinda of guy."

"What does that mean? That kinda of guy?"

"Women don't fight over me…" He stated. "It was all down to jealousy…"

"Yeah right…" She turned on the couch she was facing him. "Marshall, I'm surprise there aren't more women fighting over you."

"Mare, you don't need to do this." He rolled his eyes. "I don't need you to try and boost my ego."

"Does that sound like something I would do?" She shot back. "I mean, seriously, Marshall…You're the smartest guy I know, loyal, kind, funny…You're good look and would do anything for anyone…Why wouldn't women be fighting over you?"

This time when he smiled, she knew it was genuine and she was half expecting him to make a joke about her hitting on him because that was what they did. Whenever the conversation got too serious, one of them would break out with a joke.

"And they may have been jealous of the relationship you shared with other but maybe it wasn't about winning…" Mary was unsure why she seemed to be sticking up for the others now.

"Not about winning?" He raised an eyebrow questionable, not believing it.

"Maybe it was about not losing…" Mary shrugged a little and knowing that was her reasons behind her role in the whole thing.

"Yeah, maybe." He sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. "I just don't like being lied to or made to look like a fool."

"So, you're sure you and Abigail can't work things out?"

"No, I think this proves we don't have a good future together."

"But you love her…You live together."

"The thing with love, Mary is…" He started and when he paused, she knew he was thinking about what the right words to say were.

She knew he was going to tell her something important that she would have to read between the lines to get the true meaning. Similar to exotic animals, engagement toasts and embracing the messy.

"The thing is…" He started over when he figured out what to say. "Love isn't about who you can live with but who you cannot live without."

He was putting enough out there for her to know what he feeling but not enough that would trap her in a corner. Unlike the past, she didn't feel the need to run but she didn't know what the next step was. She knew she had been jealous of both Abigail and Natalia. She knew she didn't like it when Marshall had a girlfriend…She knew she loved him.

"I haven't eaten since breakfast…" Marshall broke the silence, knowing his partner so well that he knew she would need a bit of space. "Want to order some Chinese?"

Mary knew he was moving away from the conversation for her benefit but no matter how much she wanted to admit her feeling, she knew it wasn't the right time.

"Hey, Marshall?" She turned on the couch so see could see him stood in the kitchen, looking through her stack of takeout menus. "I can't live without you either."

A big smile broke out of his face as he looked up from the menus…Another code, just like the 'you cannot quit' and 'what? I'm thinking'…. But this time he knew she wouldn't run.

"You want your usual?" He asked, again moving on before they could get in too deep.

"Of course…" She pushed herself to her feet and walked over to her DVD collection. "I'll find us a movie to watch…"

When Marshall pulled out his cell phone to place their order, he noticed he had some messages from Abigail but decided to ignore them for tonight. She hadn't taken their break up well and pleaded with him for a second chance so he knew he would have face again in the morning to tell her there was nothing more to say and although he may not be able to get over what her and Natalia did, now he couldn't help but see the silver lining. Maybe this was the wakeup call that both he and Mary had needed…

_**XxXxX**_

"Mary?" Someone was shaking her, forcing her to wake up. "Hey, Mare…"

"What?" She groaned, burying her face in her pillow and then realized it was actually the arm of the couch. She sat up a little and peered sleepily at Marshall who was knelling on the floor next to her. "What time is it?"

They had spent all night eating, drinking and watching movies. The last thing Mary remembered was watching the start of Die Hard 3 around 3am but then she must have fallen asleep.

"Just after 7:40." He told her. "I wasn't going to wake you but Mark just called to say he has a last minute job that needs doing today so he's bringing Norah back early."

Now she sat up fully and rubbed her eyes but stopped when she suddenly smelt something wonderful coming from the kitchen.

"Did you make breakfast?"

"I did." He smiled. "Just some pancakes…"

"I love your pancakes…"

"Well, you have about an hour to eat and grab a shower before Mark drops Norah off." He informed her. "I should get going…"

"You're not staying?"

"Abigail keeps calling me." He winced at the thought of facing her again. "I should go talk to her."

"Oh, okay…" She stretched her arms out in front of her. "I was planning on taking Norah to the park later…If you want to join us?"

"Yeah, that sounds like fun." He smiled. "I'll make us a picnic."

"Okay, so about one o'clock, then?"

"It's a date." He couldn't help himself and tested their new understanding of their relationship further by pressing his lips to her forehead before standing up. "I'll see you later…"

"Uh, okay…" She stuttered a little, unsure how to react.

"Don't let your breakfast go cold." He called out just before she heard the front door closed behind him.

"Right…" She shook her head, trying to clear it. She knew that Marshall would probably have a lot of fun at her expense if he knew little things like that could throw her off her game so she needed to get it together.

She made her way to the kitchen and grabbed a mug of coffee that Marshall had already poured for her but choked when she spotted the pancakes on a plate…cut into heart shapes.

"Dork." She said loudly but couldn't keep a smile off her face.

**The End**

**Okay, so when I got the prompt I couldn't decide what to write. Mary being jealous of Marshall/Abigail …Marshall of Mary/Raph…Abigail of Mary/Marshall or Raph of them…then I decided to go another way. I'm under the impression that Marshall is the kind of guy that should have women fight over him. **

**So, this is what I came up with. Please let me know what you think and please keep sending prompts in! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, so this chapter turned out to be a whole lot longer then I first planned…The prompt was from Merciki and I'm pretty sure this isn't what you had in mind… **

_**Prompt: Mary;Marshall : bed; Jack the Ripper; "Have you completely lost your damn mind?"**_

**A Partner Promise**

Mary hated being wrong, always has and probably always will be. For years she had worked hard so wouldn't be wrong or lose at anything and there were probably times, she was right even when she was wrong. That all changed when she became partners with Marshall's Mann.

He didn't let her be right when she was wrong…He may let her win sometimes but not always and not when it was important.

While it frustrated her, it also helped her…helped her to better herself. Now she found herself wishing she had listened to her best friend.

Martin Coleman, previously known as Marty Clarkson had become one of Mary's witnesses six months ago. He had stepped into an alleyway behind a nightclub to get some fresh air when he witnessed a murder after a drug deal gone wrong. Mary was happy since Martin kept pretty much to himself in Albuquerque and never gave her any trouble but Marshall kept insisting there was something off with the 25 year old loner. His concerns only grew when they discovered he was spending a lot of his time at strip clubs and had a massive porn collection. Mary had claimed he was just a normal guy and rolled her eyes when her partner seemed offended by her comment.

Now she was bounded to a chair in the small kitchen in the apartment she had helped Martin get. She had turned up for visit because she had been in the area. Although she had told Marshall he was wrong, his views wasn't far from her mind so she figured a surprise visit might squash or validate any concerns.

When she had arrived, she got no answer when she knocked but could hear loud music playing so tested the door to find it was open. Letting herself in, she wondered down the hall and froze in the doorway to the bedroom when she saw an unconscious girl, who could have been no older then 19, tied to the headboard, naked with dark purple bruise covering her left temple and blood was pouring out of a large wound in her abandon.

The next thing Mary knew was she was waking up, tied to the chair but with the throbbing pain in the back of her head, she guessed she had been knocked on unconscious. She tugged on the ropes, trying to free herself but all she was doing was causing rope burns on her wrists. There was a gag in her mouth and the music was still playing, so she couldn't even scream for help.

She flashed back to almost a year ago when she had been in a similar situation when she was chained up by Spanky. She suddenly felt stupid for coming her alone…for not talking to Marshall…For not believing him even though she trusted his instincts.

Maybe her partner would somehow sense she was in danger and come to her rescue. He had managed to find her when she had been trapped in that basement. She might not have told him she was planning on stopping by Martin's but she mentioned it to Eleanor. The office manager may tell Marshall or Stan…or she might think it wasn't worth telling them….

She wondered what Martin had planned for her; the other girl was obviously dead so she was sure her witness wouldn't just let her walk out but maybe she could talk to him…get him to let his guard down and then she would do everything in her power to get out. She would pull out all the moves she had been learnt from her marshal training as well as extra martial arts that she sometimes did with Marshall.

She braced herself when she saw the kitchen door slowly opening and Martin appeared, a blood stained butchers knife in his hand.

"Sorry to keep you waiting…Just had to finish up with my friend." He nodded his head back towards the bedroom.

Mary forced herself to keep eye contact but had no idea how managed not to throw up.

"You never told me you were stopping by today…" Martin came to stand in front of her. "I would have cleaned up a bit…"

Mary tried to talk but the gag made every word come out mumbled.

Martin chuckled. "You know, it makes a change for you to be the helpless one…the one that is hoping I'll keep you safe."

Mary glared at him but quit trying to speak since it was doing no good other than entertaining him. She had never seen him like this before; he had always been a little creepy but quiet and polite whenever she met up with him.

"Do you know who Francis Tumblety is?" Martin asked, circling around behind her.

All Mary's instincts told her to twist around to watch him but she stayed facing forward in hope he wouldn't realize how scared she was.

"He was a doctor who practiced in Canada and the United States…" He gathered Mary's hair gently and tied it back with a rubber band. "He spent some time in London too…Around the time of the Jack the Ripper murders."

Mary tensed again at the feel of fingers brushing the back of her neck and closed her eyes when she finally recognized the name. He was one of the Ripper suspects…She remembered watching a documentary about it with Marshall.

"Of course, there was no evidence against him but some expert criminal profilers have said he's the most likely suspect after analyzing his handwriting…" Martin slowly made his way back to stand in front of her again. "But I don't know…I think, maybe the right guy was too smart to get caught…I reckon, he wasn't even on the police's radar…"

She watched as he crossed over to the sink and he turned on the tap before putting the bloodied knife under the water.

"Jack didn't like prostitutes, you know…" He said casual as he watched the water turn red. "I mean, they're not exactly good people so who really cares."

She tested the ropes again when his back was to her but they were still too tight for her to get any movement to free herself. She froze when he shut off the tap and turned back to her again, regarding her for a moment before slowly walking towards her.

"She was a prostitute…" He nodded to the bedroom again and rolled his eyes "She tried to seduce me."

He reached out and touched her cheek, causing her to jerk her head away from him and his eyes suddenly turned dark again.

"But you kind of ruined everything…You had to stick your nose in where it wasn't wanted." He took a step back, picking the knife off the counter again. "I've done what you asked me too…I gave evidence against those druggies…I got an apartment and a job to pay for it…"

Mary pulled harder against the ropes, her eyes widening as he got closer to her. The chair rocked with her movements and placed a hand on her right shoulder, gripping it painfully to stop her.

"Did you know that two of the Ripper's canonical five victims were called Mary?" He said, still holding her place while he brought the blade up to her throat. "Their throats were severed deeply with two cuts…"

Mary tried to pull her head back when he made a cutting motion, the knife millimeters above her skin.

"Then he would slice open the abdomen and remove their organs." He ran the tip of the knife down her shirt, cutting the material open. "Normally, the uterus…It's not like prostitutes should have kids anyway…"

She closed her eyes, trying to keep her breath even. She wondered how long it would be before they found her…She prayed that if they got to her too late…If Martin carried out the act before they could stop him then it wouldn't be Marshall who found her. She knew it would destroy him just like it would destroy her if anything happened to him but to live with the image of what Martin planned do to her, she knew it would end him.

"He even cut off some of their faces…." He led the blade flat against her cheek. "It's a shame because you have such a pretty face…"

Mary started to struggle again and couldn't stop tears filling her tears. She didn't want to die and definitely not like this. She wished Marshall was there; he'd tell her a trick to loosen the ropes even when tied up. He would comfort her and protect her…He wouldn't let Martin or his knife near her.

He wrapped one hand around her neck and as his fingers tightened, she struggled against him. The chair started to rock to again and a light push sent her crashing to the floor. He stood over her and laughed when he saw she was still fighting to get free.

Pain shot through Mary's body when she hit the floor but it didn't stop her trying to pull free from the ropes.

"Now, that was silly, wasn't it?" Martin crouched down bedside her. "But then, it might be easier with you lying down…"

She tried to kick out but her legs were as tightly bounded to the chair as her arms were and when he leaned down against her, she didn't stop herself from screaming out despite it coming out muffled by the gag.

She briefly thought of her Mom and Brandi and wondered what they would be told. Would they wonder why she was even in this guy's apartment when they thought her job was to hang around the courthouse? She wondered how long it would be before they started to screw their lives up and blame it on her death. She wondered how long it would take Raphael to move and find another Fat Judy to feel sorry for him and make him feel better for losing his fiancée…but most of all, she wondered what it meant that she didn't really care about any of that…She cared about what Marshall would do. She knew he wouldn't rest until Martin was caught but she had no idea what he would do after that. She knew she wouldn't be able to return to the office if Marshall was never going to be there again….Would he transfer? Would he quit? Would he want to carry on living?

Just as Martin was parting her ruined shirt, his fingers brushing her skin, he was suddenly gone as if he was lifted off of her.

Then she heard a voice and felt a twinge of disappointment that it wasn't Marshall's but before she could think anymore, she realized it might not have been Marshall who had spoken but it was Bobby Dorshowitz…And he had said Marshall's name. She forced her eyes up and looked up to see her partner holding Martin against the wall, blood coming from the younger man's nose and mouth. Without thinking, she called out for him but the muffled noise was all that was needed to gain his attention.

He shoved Martin in Bobby's direction before dropping down to the floor in front of Mary.

"Hey…" He pulled away the gag first. "You okay?"

"You took your time…" She said trying to act tough but her voice still trembled.

"Dorshowitz and I were having a beer." He was her best friend; he knew how to treat her and what kind of reaction she'd want. "I called and asked you to join us for dinner…after the third time when I left a message saying I'd pay, I started to worry since you didn't return the call."

"Well, thank god…" She let out a long, shaky breath as he skillfully tackled the knotted ropes. "Marshall, there's a girl…"

"I know…" he said softly, finally freeing her hands before moving down to her ankles. "Bobby's dealing with it."

"I think she was dead before I got here…"

Once her legs were untied, he helped her to sit up and she noticed him swallowing and looking sick to his stomach. He had probably seen the girl on the bed, just like she did…He had probably worried he would find her just like that.

"Marshall?"

"You need to get check out…Can you stand?" He forced himself to focus back on her. He slipped off his suit jacket and wrapped it around her, covering up her cut shirt.

"Yeah, I think so…" She nodded a little, holding tightly onto him as he helped her to her feet. "Wow…"

"I got you" He assured her, wrapping an arm around her waist when he felt her stagger. "We'll take it slow…Get outside in the fresh air."

"Where's Coleman?" She asked as they slowly made the way to the door.

"Bobby got him…He's gone." Marshall assured her, making sure he blocked the door to the bedroom as they passed but she was still able to catch a glimpse of bloodied sheets through the gaps between the officers from Albuquerque police department. "Stan is on his way…"

"I just want to go home." She sighed dejectedly, leaning more into him.

"I know and it won't be long but you need to go to the hospital…" He said, slowly lowering her down to sit on the front step before sitting down next to her.

"No…"

"Mary…"

"He hit me over the head and I've got a few rope marks." She told him. "At most I have a slight concession…"

"And you don't think that's a good reason to go?"

"What's the point? You'll know how to take care of me and I'd prefer you over a night at the hospital any day."

Marshall sighed, know that head injuries could be complicated but there was part of him that was overjoyed that she wanted him to look after her.

"Marshall? Mary, how you doing?" Stan jogged over and crouched down in front them.

"Better now." She took a deep breath of fresh air. "I just…I didn't know if you would find me in time."

"Well, you should thank your partner…He was the one who insisted something was wrong when Eleanor mentioned where you were going." Stan nodded his head in Marshall's direction. "I spoke to Detective Dorshowitz on the phone... I'm guessing he's heading up the ABQPD side of the investigation?"

"Yeah, he inside." Marshall informed him.

"Right, well you get her to hospital…"

"She says she's okay and doesn't need to go." Marshall said before Mary could protest. "I'm going to take her home and stay with her, make sure she's looked after."

Normally Mary would hate the indication that she needed taking care of but she knew that Stan would force her to the hospital if Marshall wasn't on her side, so she kept quiet.

Stan looked from him to Mary and sighed, knowing there was no point going up against both of them. "Okay, fine but we'll need a statement about what happened."

"Come on, Stan can't that wait…?" Marshall started to protest.

"I'm sorry but one of our witnesses has murdered someone." He held up his hand.

"It's okay…" The image of the victim flashed through Mary's mind. "He's right, who knows if he's killed anyone else."

"I'll speak with Bobby…See if he'll do a brief interview now and then you can go in to do a formal one tomorrow." Stan added softly.

"Thanks, Stan…" Mary gave him a small smile.

Marshall waited until Stan had disappeared inside before turning to face her properly. "Tell me what you need."

She considered it for a few seconds but her mind came up blank. "I don't know what I need."

He nodded a little in understanding. "But you'll tell me when you do?"

"Who else would I tell?" She questioned, leaning against him a little more so her head rested on his shoulder and let out a sigh, trying to focus on his warmth and the security she always felt whenever he was near her.

_**XxXxX**_

Bobby had pulled some strings and allowed Mary to leave as soon as he got a brief statement of what happened after they promise to meet him the next day and tell everything they knew about Martin.

It wasn't until Marshall had pulled up outside Mary's house that he realized he probably should have suggested they go to his place. Raphael's and Peter's cars were already in the driveway and all the lights were on in the house, so that probably meant they were all there.

"Mare…" He reached out a placed a hand on her arm just as she was opening the car door. "You sure you want to do this? We could go back to my house...It might be quieter there…"

Mary glanced at her house before back to him. "As much as I love the idea of that, we're here now…All I want is a shower and then sleep…I don't think I can wait another minute, let alone a 15 minutes car journey."

Marshall nodded and waited for to get out of the car before following her up the path to the front door. He saw her cringe the second they stepped into the house and heard laughing coming from the kitchen.

"Mary?" Raph called out after Marshall had closed the door behind him. "Is that you?"

"Yeah." She called back tiredly, before she could even think of a sarcastically retort about burglars not having keys.

"Hey," he grinned at her when she appeared in the kitchen doorway.

She immediately regretted not taking up Marshall's offer up about going to his house. Her mother and sister were sat at the kitchen island, browsing a magazine while Peter was getting some sodas out of the fridge.

"We were just going to order some takeout for dinner…" Raph stood up and walked over to greet her but frowned in concern when he saw the bruise already forming on her cheek. "What happened?"

Mary jerked back before he could touch her face and stumbled into Marshall, who had to put his hands on her upper arms to steady her.

"Mary?"

"It's nothing…" She took a deep breath and shook her head. "I just… I just got hit while I was dealing with a prisoner."

"Well, are you okay?" Brandi and Jinx had left the table and had joined Raphael.

"I'm fine…I'm going to take a shower." She told them before turning and leaving, hoping they wouldn't follow her.

"What was all that about?" Brandi asked.

"I'll be right back." Marshall replied when they looked at him questionable and ignored the look Raphael gave him. He knew that it should be Mary's fiancée following her into the bedroom to check to see if she's okay but he knew his partner. He knew she wouldn't want Raph in there with her and he knew that she felt comfortable in his presence so if he had to play bodyguard for her, then he would.

He knocked softly on the closed bedroom door before pushing it open. "Mare?"

"Yeah?"

He waited until he had closed the door again before speaking. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I guess…" She let out a long breath. "That was…I don't know what that was…That was weird, wasn't it?"

"Weird?" Marshall repeated, slowly moving closer to her. "I don't know, Mare…After what you've been through today…"

"Yeah but I know Raphael wouldn't hurt me." She cut in, angry with herself. "I know that I'm safe…"

"Relax." He placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her rambling. "You're entitled to feel like this…if you rush or ignore your feelings, then it's going to take longer to deal with."

"You're not going to start with the 'be the river' crap again, are you?"

He gave her one of his trademarks smiles. "Worked, didn't it?"

Mary rolled her eyes and huffed before reaching up and rubbed her eyes. "I don't want to feel like this."

"I know and I know you don't like to admit this but you're just as human as everyone else…"

"But nothing happened…" She reasoned. "You got there before he could do anything."

"But not before he tied you to a chair or tormented you, making you thinking he was going to do to you what he had done to that other girl." Marshall pointed out.

"I'm a US Marshal…"

"That doesn't make you immune to feelings or fears." This time it was him who cut her off, his own voice rising a little but then he stopped himself to continue quieter. "Mare, I just…I don't want you to suffer more then you have to just because you think you can't show how scared you were or that you think people will think you're weak because you can't bounce back right away."

Mary stared at him for a few seconds, her head telling her he was right but it didn't stop the feeling in the pit of her stomach that made her feel weak for not being stronger. Marshall sighed when she broke eye contact and walked over to sit down side her on the bed but when she kept her eyes focused on her hands, he reached over and covered them with his own to get her attention again.

"I know you know that you're not alone…that you don't have deal with this alone and I know it's hard for you to let people help you." He said softly. "We're here for you, Mary….I'm here for you…For whatever you need."

He waited patiently, watching as she still stared at their hands and he knew she was thinking over what he said, debating with herself about what she wanted and what she thought was the right thing.

After a few seconds, she lifted her slightly to look up at him. "Can you stay?"

"Yes." He replied without hesitation in a way that made her request seem normal but important at the same time.

"I really need to shower." She whispered, answering his 'tell me what you need' question before he could say it.

"Go ahead; I'll still be here when you get done." He assured her.

She knew that if he had said that any other day, she would tease him about hanging around to try and get a glimpse of her in a towel but she just didn't have the energy. Instead she stood up, gathering some sweatpants and a t-shirt before heading for the door.

She stopped and glanced back at him. "Can you…"

"What?" He asked when she stopped.

"Nothing…Don't worry."

"Mare, what?" This time he stood up and walked towards her.

"Can you talk to them?" She nodded her head to the close bedroom that hide them from her family. "Explain…Tell them I need some space."

"Of course, if you want me too." He agreed easily, experienced at breaking bad news. "How much do you want me to tell them?"

She shrugged, at that moment in time not really caring. "Tell them what you can..."

"And Raphael?" He had to ask because he was her fiancé and he knew the other man would want nothing more than to comfort and take of care once he heard what had happened.

"Ask him to …" She started but trailed off when she realized she had no idea how to deal with Raph. "Tell him I'll talk to him about it tomorrow."

"Okay." Marshall nodded again. "I'll take care of it."

"Thanks," she said quietly before slipping out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom.

Marshall waited until he heard the lock on the bathroom door before he went to find Mary's family. As he expected as soon as he entered the kitchen, they all stopped their conversation to throw questions at him, all speaking over each other.

"Guys." Marshall had to raise his voice to be heard over them. "I'll tell you what's going on but I can't hear what you're saying if you talk all at once."

"Where is Mary?" Brandi asked when the others fell silent.

"She's taking a shower." He explained. "Why don't you all take a seat?"

"What's going on?" Raph questioned, staying where he was stood while the others returned to the table. "Is Mary okay?"

"There was an incident." He started, gesturing to a chair again and this time Raph sat down. "There's an investigation going on right now so I can't tell you everything but Mary was involved…"

"What kind of incident?" Brandi cut in again.

"Honey, let him talk." Peter rubbed her arm soothingly.

"Mary was held captive by a man we believe to be a murder and rapist." Marshall swallowed; the words coming out harsher then he intended and left a bitter taste in his mouth. He instantly regretted agreeing to do this; saying the words out loud made him realize how close he had come to losing her.

"Rapist?" Jinx gasped, her hand flying to cover her mouth. "Oh no….no, not Mary!"

"We got to her before anything could happen." Marshall said quickly, feeling guilty for not being clearer.

"Is she okay?"

"She's a bit shook up but you know Mary, she's tough…She'll get through it."

"Has this got anything to do with me?" Brandi asked timidly, continuing when Marshall frowned in confusion. "With Spanky?"

"No." He shook his head and assured her. "No, it's completely unrelated."

"I don't understand…Why did this happen?" Raphael asked. "Why did Mary get taken? Was it to do with work?"

"I can't tell you much more at the moment." He sidestepped the question. "Like I said, we are still investigating what happened so until we know all the facts…"

Raph got to his feet and ran his hands over his eyes. "She was scared…"

"Situation like that will make even the toughest person…"

"I mean, she was scared of me." He stated. "When she came home…She backed away from me, didn't want me to touch her…She was scared of me."

"No, she wasn't…Not really but you must understand no matter how many times she tells herself or other people tell her that she's safe, it's going to take a while before she feels it."

"What do we do now?" Jinx asked. "Just act like nothing has happened?"

"Just give her some space." Marshall advised. "Let her get her head together."

Marshall waited a few second for any more questions but when none of them spoke, he pulled out his cell phone to check to see if he had any messages.

"We were going to order some pizza…" Peter said, as he wrapped an arm around Brandi and pulled her to him. "I can do that now…I'm sure Mary will be hungry once she's out of the shower."

"That's a good idea." Marshall replied, pulling his own wallet out of his pocket. "Here…"

Peter waved the offer the away. "It's on me."

"Right, thanks…" Marshall put his money away but his attention was caught by the sound of the shower stopping.

"Marshall." Jinx took hold off his wrist. "You are telling us everything you can, aren't you?"

"Of course." He patted her hand which then enabled him to remove it from his own, giving her a small smile. "Trust me, everything is being dealt with…Just give Mary time, she'll be fine."

Thankfully his cell phone rang, giving him the perfect chance to escape. "Excuse me, I'll be right back, I need to take this…"

He moved into the hallway and opened the front door to get some privacy but before he could pull it close, he heard the bathroom door opening then closing. He watched Mary almost silently walked down the hall and back into her bedroom. He wanted to follow her but his cell phone kept ringing in her hand and he knew he needed to talk to Stan.

He kept the conversation with his boss short, only wanting to know the bare facts because he knew Mary would want information and he didn't want to have to withhold anything from her. When he returned to the house, Marshall found Mary going into the kitchen.

"Mary, sit down…" Jinx took hold of her hand and tried to guide her over to the table. "Let me make you some tea…"

"I don't want tea." She shrugged her off, taking a few steps back so she was closer to Marshall; something that neither he nor Raphael missed.

"We ordered some pizza…A meat lovers…Your favorite." Brandi told her.

"Sounds good." Mary replied, despite having no appetite at all.

"Is there anything I can get you?" Raphael asked her, reaching out towards her without thinking but then pulled back before he could touch her.

"No, I'm just tired." She answered, unable to look at him.

"Well, sit down then." Jinx pulled out a chair. "We'll take care of you…"

"Or maybe you want an early night." Raphael suggested. "You could probably do with some sleep."

Mary nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready to crash."

"Well, if you like I could sleep on the couch tonight." He offered. "So, you can have the bed to yourself."

Mary was surprised and grateful for the gesture but stop herself before accepting because she wanted Marshall to spend the night and there was no way she could suggest he sleep in their bedroom while Raph slept on the couch despite the circumstances.

"Marshall is staying, so he'll be on the couch…"

"Why is Marshall staying?" Brandi asked, looking between the two. "You're not in danger, are you?"

"No, not at all." Marshall supplied to assure her. "Mary took a knock to the head, so I'm going to stick around to make sure there are no complications."

"There are enough of us here to look after her." Raphael replied. "I'm sure you want to get back home."

"He needs to stay." Mary said quickly, anxiously.

"I have had some medical training… One of the conditions that Mary got to come home instead of the hospital was that I would stay and make sure everything was okay." Marshall added smoothly, although he was concerned that Raphael wouldn't take Mary's insistence of his presence well for much longer. "And no need to worry about sleeping arrangements, I'll find a corner to hover in."

"Are you sure you shouldn't go to the hospital?" Raph looked away from Marshall towards his fiancée.

"I just want to go to sleep." She answered. "Marshall, can I speak to you."

"Sure." He followed her down the hall and back into the bedroom; watching her as she closed the door, leaning back against it.

"Jesus." She muttered, taking a couple of deep breaths. "This was a bad idea…"

"What was?"

"Coming here." She raked her fingers through her hair, wincing when she came in contact with her wound. "I should have listened to you and gone to your house…I should have listened to you about Martin and none of this would have happened…I should have…"

"Mary." He placed her hands on her upper arms. "Calm down…"

"But…."

"Just breathe." He advised calmly. "Take a deep breath, in and out…"

She tried to focus on him, copying his breathing technique. "I put you in the middle of this…"

"Mare, don't worry about me or about Raphael or anyone else." He rubbed his hands lightly up and down her arms. "Just concentrate on yourself."

After another couple of seconds, she was pushed herself away from the door and from him, knowing any longer then she would fall into his arms…and she just couldn't do that. She walked over to the bed and sat on the edge.

"Have you spoken to Stan?"

"Yeah."

"So, what's the news?" She asked when he didn't volunteer any information.

"Martin isn't talking which isn't a surprise." He informed her. "But there is no way he's going to be able get out of this with the evidence there is."

Mary nodded a little. "And the girl?"

"Mare…"

"Just tell me."

Marshall sighed. "They found her purse in the apartment and the cards she had with her, says her name is Jennifer Camden aged 25…"

"She didn't look 25." Mary whispered.

"No, she didn't…It could be a fake ID." Marshall shrugged. "Bobby's looking into it."

"He said she was a prostitute."

Marshall sighed. "Yeah, it looks like that might be right but they're going to find out who she was and where her family is…"

"She looked like a teenager…what kind of life did she have to turn to that?"

"Mare, don't do this." He pleaded. "There was no way of any of knowing that Martin would this…There was nothing you could have done to stop it…"

"You knew."

"What?"

"You knew that Martin was up to something…"

"No, I didn't…" He shook his head. "I may have not liked the guy or the way I saw him looking and talking to women but I never imagined he could be capable of this."

"I just wish I could have done something…I'm a Marshal, I should have been able to do something…"

"I know it comes with the job, this feeling that should have done better or more and I know that I'm not going to be able to say anything that will convince you that what you're feeling is normal but just know that you will get there." He crouched down in front of her. "It's going to take a while but you can't give up…Just remember that you need to go through all this and know no matter what, I'll be one step behind you, ready to catch you if you fall…I'll be here for whatever you need."

Mary just looked down at him, torn between breaking down at his words and mocking him for being so cheesy but instead she thought about what her mother had said after everything that had happened with Spanky:

_You don't have to open up to the whole world. You just have to open up with someone._

It had always been Marshall… While she didn't always tell him everything or opened up without being prompted, she told him more then she had ever told anyone.

"That pizza should be here soon…" Marshall moved the conversation on, knowing there was no point saying anymore. She knew he was there for her but he just hoped she would take him up on his offer. "Do you want to eat with everyone else or…"

"I just want to go to sleep." She shook her head.

"You should eat something…"

"I'm not really hungry."

"I'll go have a scout around your kitchen, see if I can fix you something." He stood up. "I'll be right back."

"Marshall?"

"Yeah?" He turned back to look at her when he reached the door.

"Thanks."

"No problem, partner." He smiled before exiting the bedroom.

He was relieved to see Mary's family had moved out of the kitchen and into the living room. He bypassed them all and was thankfully they seemed too engrossed in their own conversation and the pizza to notice he had left the bedroom.

Although, he hasn't spent a whole lot of time at Mary's lately, he still knows where everything is. He stuck some bread in the toaster before filling up the kettle to make some tea, adding an extra spoon of sugar to the cup, hoping it would help with the stock. While he waited for the toast and the water to finish boiling, he pulled open the fridge to see if there was anything else that he might be able to get Mary to eat. The fridge was empty apart from two bottles of beer, some eggs and some non-fat yoghurt. He closed the fridge again before reaching up on top of the counter, feeling around for a second before he touched what he was looking for. Grinning, he pulled down a large bar of chocolate. Mary would crave some kind of candy every now and then but a few weeks after Jinx and Brandi had moved in, she found she would never have any in the house for when she wanted it so had decided to hide it away. After spreading a little butter on the toast and pouring out the tea, he put it all on a tray with the chocolate and headed back to the bedroom.

"I'm really not hungry…" Mary told him again with sighed when she saw him with the tray but pushed herself up to sit against the headboard.

"Just try a little…" He set it down on her lap.

"You found my chocolate stash…"

"It wasn't a very imaginative hiding place." He replied, sitting on the edge of the bed. "We really need to discuss the lack of food in your house…"

She rolled her eyes as she sipped the hot, sweet tea. "You really want to talk about that? Now?"

"Would you prefer talk about what happened today?"

"No." She answered, setting her tea back down on the tray, staring into it so she didn't have to look at him.

"Thought not."

Mary picked up one piece of the toast and took a small bit, mostly to keep him happy but she found as soon as she started to eat, the hungrier she felt.

"Is there anything else you need?" Marshall asked once she had started on the second slice of toast.

"I just want to sleep now."

Marshall could hear movement in the hallway and was hoping the others were getting ready to go to bed themselves…He really didn't want to have to spend the time stopping them from trying to get information out of him or Mary.

"You don't need to stay, you know…" She whispered. "You've made sure I've eaten and it's not like I'll be doing anything other than sleeping…"

"I thought you said you wanted me to stay?"

"I did but…"

"Mare, does my being here make you feel better?" He asked, although he was unsure what kind of answer he was going to get. Mary Shannon never let anyone take care of her and he didn't want her thinking he was mollycoddling her but she surprised him with her answer.

"Yes." Her eyes dropped down to the tray briefly before back up at him. "I need you to stay….I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry." He shook his head. "I want to be here…I want to help you."

"Why?" She asked. "Why would you want to be here? To be dragged into this? Why do you never walk away?"

"You're my partner, Mare…My best friend." He told her. "Why would I walk away?"

It was time like this when he was wanted to track down Mary's father and make him suffer for all her insecurity now.

Mary let out a big sigh and ran a hand over her face. "I know I can trust you…I'm sorry…I guess, I'm just tired."

"I'm here, Mary." He told her firmly. "For whatever you need."

She smiled softly and set her empty mug back down on the tray. "I know…"

"Well, I'll leave you to get some sleep." He lifted the tray off her lap. "But I'll be right out there if you need anything."

"Thanks, Marshall…" She scooted down the bed, trying to get comfortable.

"Try and get some rest." He advised softly before leaving the room.

He carried the tray into the kitchen where he found Brandi and Raphael, who both immediately stopped talking when they saw him.

"Hey," Brandi stepped away from the counter she had been leaning against so he could set the tray down "How's Mary?"

"She's going to try and get some sleep." Marshall told them, hoping it would discourage them from trying to see her.

Brandi glanced at Raphael before looking back at Marshall. "She not okay really, is she?"

Marshall sighed. "She will be…in time."

Raph ran a hand down his face. "Well, I guess there's nothing more to say or do."

"Tomorrow is another day." Marshall stated. "Everyone will feel better after some sleep."

"Yeah." Brandi agreed but didn't sound convinced. "Okay, goodnight, then."

"Goodnight." Marshall returned, watching as Brandi left the kitchen and down the hall to her bedroom.

"Jinx has already gone to bed." Raph informed him as he filled up a glass with some water. "If there is nothing you need then I'm going to get some sleep…"

"I'll be fine." Marshall assured him. "I got some phone calls to make I'm going to step outside for a few minutes."

"Well, goodnight then." Raph replied, moving past him to the living room and Marshall knew the other man wasn't happy with his presence. Marshall could understand Raphael wanted to be the one the take care of his own girlfriend and be there for her but he wasn't about to step back to make him feel better.

Once he had stepped outside, he pulled out his cell phone to call Bobby D. After a quick conversation to find out that Coleman wasn't talking at all about the girl or Mary, he then spoke to Stan who told him that they were looking into whether he was connected to any other similar cases, both in New Mexico and back in Iowa.

After hanging up, he stayed outside for a minutes, just staring up at the stars and taking a few deep breaths. Bobby had also warned him that while Coleman wasn't commenting on what happened to Mary or the other girl, he did say he wanted to press charges against Marshall for assault. He wasn't worried about that, no one would take it seriously with the evidence they had against him and knew no one would blame him for any injuries inflicted on a man he was trying to restrain. The truth though was if Bobby hadn't stepped in, Marshall didn't know if he would have been able to stop himself. After seeing that girl had been so gruesomely murdered, he had feared the worst for Mary. Then entering the kitchen to see Coleman on top of his partner and blood covering them both, he just reacted. He thought he was too late…he thought had lost her.

At least one benefit on staying the night here would be that there was little chance he would actually get any sleep. No sleep meant none of the nightmares that were bound to come. He sighed and ran a hand over his eyes, taking another deep breath before re-entering the house.

The TV was playing quietly and after a quick look, Marshall saw Raph was asleep so turned it off. He headed back to the kitchen, intending of making a strong pot of coffee when he noticed Mary's bedroom was open with the light on. He moved down to check on her but stopped when he heard the shower running as he passed the bathroom. What had him contemplating about entering was the sound of crying. He glanced back in Raphael's direction to confirm the other man hadn't woken up before knocking quietly on the door, pushing it open before he got an answer.

"Mary?" He said softly as he stepped inside the bathroom, his heart breaking when he saw his partner sat at one end of the bathtub, the water not touching her with her knees drawn tightly to her chest. "Mary?"

He crossed the room towards her but she didn't look up at him nor stop crying. "Hey, Mare…"

When he reached out to touch her, he found her skin was ice cold and she was shivering. He leaned over and turned off the shower before grabbing a towel from the counter to wrap around her.

"Come on, Mare…" He said and when he still got no response, he slipped an arm around her legs and lifted her out of the tub, being careful to avert his eyes. When he went to sit her down on the edge of the tub, her arms moved to around his neck to hold onto his tightly even though she started to sink to the floor. "Okay, its okay…I've got you."

He lowered himself down until he was sat on the floor, his back leaning against the tub and his partner curled up on his lap, her face buried in her chest as her sobs got louder. He rested his chin on top of her head and traced slow circles on her back, just letting her cry and prayed that no one would enter the bathroom to see what was going on.

He lost tracked of how long they sat like that but when Mary's cries slowly stopped, he loosen his hold on her to let her pull away whenever she was ready. Even when she did move off his lap to sit beside him, they stayed silent. Mary drew her legs up and hugged them to her chest again, keeping her head down so she didn't have to look at him.

Marshall waited patiently; he hated seeing her like this. He knew she trusted him and felt safe with him around, he just wished that was enough. He knew no words or anything he did would make her stop feeling the way she feels. She needed to go through all the pain and fear…She needed to come to terms with it herself. No matter how much he wanted it fix it for her or suffer the pain himself instead of her, he knew he couldn't…All he could do was to be by her side.

"Thanks." She whispered so quietly that he almost missed it. "I guess I had a dream…and well anyway, thanks…"

"No problem, partner." He replied, bumping his shoulder lightly against hers.

She finally glanced at him, giving him a small smile. "We should probably get some sleep…"

Marshall nodded and got to his feet, holding a hand down to help her up. She gratefully gripped onto it with one hand, while the other held the towel around her.

"Do you need anything?" Marshall asked after they slowly made back into her bedroom and Mary was sat on the edge of the bed but she didn't answer. "Mary?"

She suddenly snapped back to the present and looked up at him, not hearing what he had just said. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"You okay?" He asked, even though he knew it was a stupid question.

She sighed. "I just got this massive headache now…"

"Why don't you get dressed and I'll go get you some painkillers." He offered, at least he could help take that kind of pain away.

"Yeah, okay, thanks…" She nodded.

Marshall looked towards the couch again just to check that Raphael was still sleeping and hadn't been woken by Mary and him. Happy to hear the other man snoring quietly he moved into the kitchen. First he poured himself a glass of water and took a couple of painkillers for his own headache that he had since pulling Mary out of that house; giving her a bit extra time to get dressed.

When he returned to the bedroom with her water and pills, he almost groaned in frustration when he saw she was not dressed but sat where he had left her, only wearing her bra and panties.

"Mare, you're going to get cold…"

"What's wrong with me?" She asked, looking up at him.

"What?" He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"This is the second time this has happened…" She stood up and started to pace the room. "What am I doing wrong?"

"You did nothing." He insisted firmly. "Don't do this…don't blame yourself and give them excuses for what they did."

"I know what they did was wrong…They had no right to do that to me…to anyone." She shook her head. "But there must be a reason why it keeps happening to me…I must do something."

"You were doing your job." He claimed. "You went around there because it was your job as Martin's inspector…"

"And when Spanky?" She stopped and looked at him.

"You weren't who he even wanted." He reminded her.

She raked her fingers through her hair, wincing when they brushed against her head wound. "What if it happens again?"

"Mare…" He put the water and painkillers onto the night stand then moved to stand in front of her. "You can't think like that."

"Why not?" She asked. "Why shouldn't I?"

"Because you can't live your life looking over your shoulder…being scared of shadows." He stated. "You're not that person…I won't let you be that person."

She stared at him for a second. "You won't let me?"

"Mare, it's natural for you feel like this… This all happened just a few hours ago but you'll get through this." He claimed. "You're the strongest person I know…You cannot give up on yourself…"

She sat back down on the bed, suddenly feeling tired again. "I just…I don't think I can survive next time."

Marshall swallowed the lump that had rose in his throat; his mind silently agreeing that he couldn't have her going through something like that again. He sat down on the bed beside her, taking one of her hands in hers.

"What if I promised to be always there?" He asked, turning slightly so he was facing her. "If I promised to always come…You don't need to worry about surviving because I'll be there to protect you."

"Marshall…" She whispered and shook her head a little. "Don't…"

"You're my best friend…You mean the world to me….I wants to help you…to protect you." He insisted.

"I know and that what terrifies me." She admitted and saw hurt flash across his face at her words. "I didn't mean that I don't trust you to protect me, I know you would with everything that you have…"

"Then what is it?"

"What would have done if you entered that apartment and I was that girl on the bed?"

"Don't…" He shook his head and closed his eyes; he had a hard enough time keeping that image out of his mind.

"I know you, Marshall…I know you better than people give me credit for." She began to cry quietly again. "I know no matter what you'll be the first there…You'll go into any place ahead of everyone and regardless of your own safety if you thought I was there….and…and I keep thinking…"

"Keep thinking what?" He prompted, using all his strength to keep ahold of his own emotions.

"If I ever lost you…and, and found you like…like that…I couldn't deal with that Marshall…I could never move on." She claimed. "I know you would never rest if I disappear…I know you would do everything in your power to find me….I know you'd come….but it terrifies me what you might find….that it will destroy you…I don't want that."

"You think me getting a phone call or not being there would make it hurt less?" He asked. "It doesn't matter how it happens, Mare….I'd never get over losing you."

She surprised him by fall into his embrace but he was grateful for the chance to hold her again. He took a few deep breaths and tried to get his focus back on her. He knew they had a long road ahead of them and best thing she could do at this point was get some rest.

"How about we make a promise to each other?" He suggested, still holding her against his chest. "We promise to be there for each other, no matter what…We promise to fight for each other and never give up."

She pulled back a little so she could look into his eyes. "Can you keep that promise?"

"I can promise you I can try to…" He claimed. "I will try with everything I have not to break that promise."

She was quiet for a few seconds, thinking about what he had just said before speaking, this time her voice was a little more confident. "If there is anyone I can trust to keep that promise then it you…"

He couldn't resist pressing his lips against her forehead and letting them linger there for a few seconds longer then was probably normal.

"You should get some sleep…" He stated as he pulled back.

"Stay?"

"It's the middle of the night…You think I'll leave now?" He teased lightly.

"No, I mean stay with me…here." She looked down. "I don't want to be alone."

He reached out and squeezed her hand. "If you want me to, then of course I will…"

She gave him another smile before moving back onto the bed, tugging on his hand for him to follow.

"Mare, you should get dressed." He told her.

"I'm too tired to move…" She was already lying down.

He glanced around the room but couldn't see the sweats she had been wearing earlier. He sighed, realizing that they were probably still in the bathroom. He looked down at her, knowing there was no way he should be getting into bed with her while she was just in her underwear and her fiancée was sleeping on the couch in the living room.

"Here" He unbuttoned the top three buttons on his shirt and pulled it over his head.

"Marshall…" She started tiredly, sitting up again.

"Come on, Mare…" He almost pleaded and even helped her slip it on.

"Can we sleep now?"

"Yes." He led down on his side next to her and was surprised again when she turned to face him, tucking her head under his chin and pulled his arm so it was around her. He waited a few minutes before speaking. "Are you sure this is okay?"

He looked down when he got no answer and smiled a little when he saw his partner was already sleeping. He pulled her a little closer, holding her a little tighter and kissed the top of her head.

_**XxXxX**_

Raph groaned in pain when he woke up on the couch the next morning. He slowly sat up and rubbed a hand down his face before stretching his arms out in front of him. He knew it was still early because the house was so quiet, a quick look at his cell phone told it was just after 6AM. Guessing Mary would be awake soon, he decide to make breakfast for everyone and hoped it would make his fiancée feel a little better. He frowned a little when he realized that Marshall wasn't in the living room or the kitchen and wondered whether the other man had given in and finally went home.

When he stepped into the bathroom, he noticed a pile of Mary's sweat clothes on the floor and saw that someone had taken a shower. Thinking that she was already awake, he made his way to the bedroom in hope that he could talk to her before everyone else woke up but froze when he pushed the door open.

Not only was his fiancée in bed with her partner but she was sleeping peacefully in his arms, wearing his shirt, her face pressed against his bare chest. He slowly and quietly backed out of the room, not knowing what to make of what he just saw or what it meant for his engagement.

_**XxXxX**_

Marshall woke when he felt Mary moving out of his arms. "Mary?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you…"

"It's okay…" He mumbled, he forced his eyes open and sat up. "How do you feel?"

She shrugged. "Would you believe me if I said, I didn't know."

Marshall smiled a little. "I think that's normal."

"Thanks….for last night." She said after hesitating slightly.

"You don't need to thank me, I'm your partner." He assured her.

"You do realize it's going to get weird now, don't you?"

"Why is it going to get weird?" He frowned.

"Because I can hear people moving around out there which means that they're going to know you slept in here."

"What do you need me to do?" He asked, knowing that facing her family might be just a bit too much right now.

"Make all this go away?" She sighed. "I don't know what I need…Except I know I don't want to deal with any more drama."

"Well, Dorshowitz is expecting us at 10 to go over your statement." Marshall looked at his watch. "We have two hours…"

"Does your offer still stand?" She asked. "Can I stay with you at your place?"

"Of course."

"I know I have to talk to Raph and my family eventually but I just can't right now…"

"Why don't you get a bag together for a few days, we'll go to mine and I'll cook us breakfast before we head to ABQPD." He suggested.

"I love it when you have a plan." She stood up and moved to her dresser.

"I'll let you get dressed…" Marshall said but before he could get off the bed, she tossed a US Marshal t-shirt at him. "Wait, is this mine?"

"I borrowed." She shrugged, pulling on some jeans and then took off his shirt, replacing it with a tank top.

Marshall slipped on the t-shirt as she started to stuff clothes into a bag, not really caring about what she packed.

"Stan sent a message…" Marshall told her, reading through his emails and texts. "Wants to see how you're doing…"

"I'll call him later." Mary zipped up the bag but winced in pain when she picked it up.

"Here" He took it off her, ignoring the glare she sent him. "You ready?"

"Yeah, let's get out of here."

Marshall followed Mary out of the bedroom but stayed close behind her and as soon as they stepped into the kitchen, everyone stopped to look at them.

"Marshall, you're still here?" Jinx looked at him, in surprise. "I thought you had gone home…"

Mary could see Brandi and Peter were just as confused as Jinx but one look at Raphael, sulking at the table told her he knew where Marshall had slept last night.

"Look, I'm going to stay with Marshall for a few days…." Mary didn't want to waste any time.

"What?" Raph stood up. "Mary, what are you doing?"

"I just need space…" She had to force herself to stay where she was stood and not back away.

"We're engaged, Mary…" Raph exclaimed. "I'm meant to be the one that comforts you…the one whose arms you sleep in…"

"Raph, I'm sorry….I just can't deal with this right now." She told him. "I need to go…"

"Just wait…" Raph reached out to take her arm but as soon as he touched her, she jerked away from him.

Marshall reacted without thinking…all he saw was the look of fear cross Mary's face as she stumbled to get out of Raphael's gasp so he put himself between the two of them, grabbing hold of Raph's hand and pushed him back until he was against the wall.

"What the hell are you doing?!" He demanded, pushing him harder against the wall. "Have you completely lost your damn mind?!"

"Marshall!"

He suddenly realized what he was doing and that Mary was trying to pull him back. He instantly dropped his hold and stepped back.

"Why don't you wait outside…?" She suggested quietly. "I'll be out in a minute…"

"Mary…" He started to protest.

"It's okay." She gave him a gentle push towards the door. "I'll be okay."

Marshall sighed and gave Raph another glare before doing as he was told.

"I didn't mean to scare you…" Raphael stated, still leaning against the wall.

"My head knows that but…" She trailed off, unsure how to explain it. "I'm going to stay with Marshall…It's where I need to be right now."

"Don't do this, Mary." Raph pleaded. "Don't turn away from me…"

"I'm sorry…" She shook her head.

"Why him?" He asked.

"Because I trust him…I feel safe with him." She found it easy to answer. "I need him right now…I'm sorry because I know that's not fair to you but I need to do what right for me…"

"And where does that leave us?"

"I really don't know if there is an us." She admitted. "If there ever truly was…"

"Don't say that…"

"I'm sorry." She said again and started backing up to the door. "I've got to go."

"Mary?!" He called after her but she didn't look back.

She found Marshal stood, leaning against his truck, waiting for her. "Mare, I'm sorry…I shouldn't have grabbed him like that…"

"It's okay." She assured him. "Just get me out of here."

He reached out and squeezed her hand before opening the passenger's door then moved to the driver's side. Mary stayed silent on their way to his place and she was grateful that Marshall let her be and didn't try to get her to talk. She was grateful that he always knew what she needed and despite everything that had happened the day before, she knew she would be okay because Marshall had already promised, he wasn't going to let her not be.

**The End**

**Wow, so thank you to anyone who stuck with it and read the whole thing! Please review and let me know what you think! **


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